BRITISH BOTANICAL GARDENS IN THE 1980s:

CHANGES REFLECTED BY BIBLIOGRAPHICAL

AND SOCIAL SURVEY

Enid Constance Gilberthorpe

Thesis submitted fox'the degree of PhD

University of SheffieldDivision of Education

January 1987

cONTEN'rs

PAGE NUMBER

List of Contents :1.

List of Illustrations 111

Acknowledgements iv

Summary vi

CHAPTER

I INTRODUCTION: AIMS AND SCOPE

I

2 KEY DOCUMENTS 27

3 PLANTS FOR TEACHING, AND FOR RESEARCH: 42

teaching of botany; supplies of plant

material; research into taxonomy;

experimental botany

4

ECONOMIC BOTANY - plants with domestic 57

and medicinal uses and of commercial

importance

5

HORTICULTURE: the acquisition and 74

cultivation of plants in botanical

gardens

6

AMENITY: plants for pleasure and

97

interest

7

PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ilk

SERVICES; PUBLIC RECREATION FACILITIES

1.

PAGE NUMBER

139

188

220

242

2.7

287

294

328

CHAPTER

8

CONSERVATION: wild and cultivated

plants in danger

9

BOTANICAL GARDENS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC;

GUIDES TO THE GARDENS - PRINTED

PUBLICITY; ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE

GUIDE S

10

FUNCTIONS OF GARDENS - THE PROBLEM

OF OVERLAP

11

SHEFFIELD BOTANICAL GARDENS

12

BOTANICAL GARDENS IN BRITISH 'TWINNED'

TOWNS - ANY INTERACTION WITH THEIR

EUROPEAN PARTNERS?

13

PUBLIC VIEWS ON BOTANICAL GARDENS -

A SAMPLE SURVEY

14

GARDENS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE -

POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ILLUSTRATIONS

(between pages 219 and 220)

National

1. Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden: Rock Garden

Pond.

2. Kew Royal Botanic Gardens: Palm House with

spring bedding.

3. Westonbirt Arboretum (Forestry Commission):

the memorial sarsen stone on Mitchell Drive.

University

L&. Cambridge University Botanic Garden: [view of

Garden shown on front of folding leaflet].

5. Ness Gardens (University of Liverpool): a late

summer scene in the Heather Garden.

6. Oxford University Botanic Gardens: The Botanic

Garden as figured in Loggan's Oxonia Illustrata, 1675.

Municipal.

7. Glasgow Botanic Gardens: Tree ferns.

8. Sheffield Botanical Gardens: Sheffield Botanical

Gardens, 1970.

111

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to Professor

A. J. Willis, whose constant help and encouragement as

supervisor and whose advice have been invaluable

throughout this work.

My thanks are also due to Professor W. H. G.

Armytage, whose enthusiasm for the subject was an

important stimulus; his guidance as supervisor during

the first stage was much appreciated.

The support of former colleagues was very welcome;

they included especially Mr. R. F. Atkins, then DirectorSeji6L C2j

of1Libraries, who gave permission for the sample survey

of' staff views on botanical gardens. He also allowed

access to weekly batches of new books on approval at the

Central Library, a useful aid in the compilation of

bibliographical material. Thanks are due to members of

the Library staff who completed the questionnaire and who

helped regularly with reference information over several

years.

Sincere thanks are also extended to many professionals,

horticulturists and others, especially those who responded

to the questionnaire on 'town twinning schemes. In

addition to other directors and curators of' gardens who

supplied information, I am particularly grateful for the

valuable assistance of' Mr. A. L. Winning, then Director of

Sheffield Recreation Department, who provided much horticultural

information.

iv

The generosity of Mr. G. Sheringham in allowing

access to the questionnaires returned to him during his

preparation of the series of articles for GC & HTJ

magazine is acknowledged with thanks.

Mrs. Anne Carroll and Mr. Tom Sleight, of

Lockwoods florists shops,have given helpful information

on growing wild flowers in gardens, included in Chapter 8.

In a topic which is partly of a social nature,

assistance from many acquaintances in different localities

has been very helpful. In their willing contributions to

discussions, they have confirmed the view that much value

is attached by the conununity to gardens in general and to

botanical gardens in particular.

I thank Miss Barbara Waugh for some typing and other

assistance, and Mrs. Ruth Barker for typing this thesis.

Copyright of illustrations is acknowledged as

follows:

Cambridge University Botanic Gardens,

Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden,

Glasgow Botanic Gardens,

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens,

Ness Gardens (University of Liverpool),

Oxford University Botanic Gardens,

Sheffield Botanical Gardens,

Westonbirt Arboretum (Forestry Commission).

V

BRITISH BOTANICAL GARDENS IN THE 1980s:

CHANGES REFLECTED BY BIBLIOGRAPHICAl.

AND SOCIAL SURVEY

SUMMARY

Ci)

British botanical gardens in the 1980s represent

the latest stage in their long history dating

from the Middle Ages. Origins lie in different

types of institution: religious; academic;

economic; amateur; scientific; and municipal.

This diversity explains the variety of modern

institutions involved with gardens, which may

be recognized in four categories: state;

university; local authority; and private

societies.

(2) The relationship of the gardens to the community

is central to this study. Emphasis is placed

on public views of them. (A small sample survey

was conducted to obtain the ideas of the public

about their functions.)

(3) A questionnaire was sent to relevant gardens,

enquiring about possible international relation-

ships based on European twinning schemes.

(p1) Many influences are seen to contribute to the

substantial changes evident in the activities

of British botanical gardens today. New

vi

developments are considered, e.g. increased

leisure and consequent need for recreation

activities; transport facilities; influence

of the mass media, especially television;

conservation schemes; and current financial

stringency. Some scientific advances (e.g.

micropropagation) and technical progress (e.g.

labour-saving machinery) are mentioned.

(5) Six main functions of the gardens are identified

and considered in detail: teaching and research;

economic botany; horticulture; amenity; public

in.iormation arid education services, public

recreation facilities; and conservation. The

functions are reviewed in relation to overlap

with those of other modern institutions (e.g.

research stations), and other types of garden.

(6) Sheffield Botanical Gardens - seen in their

historical context - provide a good example of

change affecting a nineteenth-century institution

adapted to the 1980s. The Gardens' importance

to the local community is assessed from informal

enquiries.

(7) A bibliography of non-specialized material is

included. Most chapters contain a literature

section with notes on important published

material.

vii

(8) Findings include: the contribution, uniquely

made by academic botanical gardens, to teaching

and research; the importance in all the

gardens of public information and education

services and recreation facilities; the

significance of conservation activities within

a national and international framework.

ENID CONSTANCE QILBERTHORPE

vi. ii

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION: AIMS AND SCOPE

British botanical gardens are now at an exciting

stage in their long development. During past centuries

they have carried out different functions at various

times. The purpose of the present study is to examine

the functions which they now serve, to consider the

different aspects of their work in the light of modern

social conditions and to assess the continuing importance

of their place in the life of the country, as seen from

the point of view of the community.

All the main activities within gardens are discussed,

but special emphasis is given to those functions which

are connected with amenity, public information, and

recreation, and to the very important part which botanical

gardens may play in conserving wild and garden plants.

Aims of the investigation

These may be summarized as follows:

a) To identify and describe the various functions

(and priorities) of different categories of

contemporary botanical gardens of Great Britain,

following an initial study of the views expressed

by directors and curators, as well as by writers

on gardening topics and experts speaking on

television.

1

b) To consider each of these functions separately.

To study the changes which have taken place in

the world of British botanical gardens in recent

years (i.e. since about 1970). To demonstrate

those aspects of the gardens' activities which

relate directly to the life of the community.

To investigate by survey and informal enquiries

the opinions held by the public about the functions

and importance of these gardens at the present day.

Reference will be made, where relevant, to the

functions of other bodies, e.g. research stations,

private and National Trust gardens and commercial

nurseries, and to foreign botanical gardens.

To consider possible future developments in the

work of these gardens.

c) To refer to reports or features in the non-specialized

literature, especially those which show the changes

taking place, or envisaged, in the functions of

British botanical gardens.

Definition of terms

a) 'British' in this context is used in the strict

sense of 'Great i.e. England, Scotland

and Wales, and those islands which are administered

from the mainland.

At a time when international co-operation between

botanical gardens is increasing, however, it is

important to include references to foreign gardens,

2

since they influence and are influenced by

current British practice.

b) 'Botanical Gardens'. To give a brief yet

comprehensive definition of the modern meaning

of the term 'botanical gardens is not easy.

The answer may lie in the combination of the two

words themselves. 'Botanical' implies 'scientific',

with the plants systematically arranged and grown

for reasons other than their own intrinsive

attractiveness. usually refers to a

place which is made pleasant to visit, though

growing plants in themselves are usually attractive.

The definition is made more difficult by the

existence of several types of botanical garden.

Those attached to teaching institutions, e.g.

university departments of Botany, departments in

colleges of Agriculture and Horticulture, naturally

differ from public botanical gardens administered

by local authorities or from those botanical

gardens still in the care of private societies

or individuals. The following definition is

suggested here, based on different versions in

the literature:

A garden made primarily for scientific study,

research, education or interest, where the plants

are often arranged systematically. Other con-

siderations such as conservation may play an

3

important part, and at least some area is usually

included where amenity is the main objective,

both in the design and in the planting.

Explanation of the arrangement of material and mode of

presentation

As public leisure activities, and, by association,

amenity horticulture, have a special importance in this

survey, as well as conservation (considered from a layman's

point of view), much more detail is given in these sections

than in others.

For each function, however, the following information

is given:

a) Historical basis of the function, if it can be

identified.

b) Description of the function.

c) Period of greatest importance, if applicable and

can be established.

d) Importance at present, including consideration of

whether any other type of establishment is also

carrying out the same function.

The concluding chapter reviews the present situation

and looks to possible future developments. The object is

(as stated above) to assess the importance which these

gardens currently have, and may be expected to have in

the future, in the life of the community.

11

Historical aspects

The history of British botanical gardens is not

described separately here, as historical material relating

to each function may be best included in considerations

on that function, so that the past and the present

situations can be treated together.

A concise, informative historical account of English

botanical gardens is given by Ray Desmond in his chapter

'Physic and botanical gardens', in the Victoria and Albert

Museum publication, The Garden: a celebration of one

thousand years of British gardening (1979). The volume

(edited by John Harris) was first published as an official

account for sale at the Exhibition of 1979 and afterwards

reissued.

Specialized scientific aspects

As earlier indicated, the aims of the present study

are an appraisal of the functions of gardens and their

relationship to the public generally rather than specialized

scientific study. Accordingly scientific subjects such

as, for example, plant physiology, cytology or metabolism,

and the detailed aspects of economic botany and of horticulture

are not discussed here.

Documentation

There is no lack of written material on subjects

related to the present survey. For centuries books have

been written, as well as articles in periodicals, about

5

plants, gardening, and garden design. To some extent,

works on all these subjects are relevant to the study

of botanical gardens. At present, however, and in

recent years, there has been a substantial upsurge of

material on gardens and plants, reflecting the considerable

current interest in these subjects by both specialists

and amateurs. Every week it is usual to find several

new works published on these subjects, or, significantly,

older books reprinted, showing a deep interest in the

history of the subject.

Particular topics investigated

In appraising botanical gardens in the 1980s, with

particular reference to their present-day functions and

status, it has beenaimedto make an original contribution

to a number of important considerations. These main

aspects of study, which have been investigated here in

some detail, may be conveniently summarized as follows:

1. The assemblage of a bibliography of (non-specialized)

literature on botanical gardens and related subjects.

2. Presentation of a particular viewpoint - that of

the gardens as seen by the community.

3. A survey by questionnaire of potential links between

botanical gardens in Great Britain and their

European 'twin' towns.

A sample survey of public views on the functions

of the gardens.

6

An indication of the influence of television

garden programmes as a source of information

about the gardens.

6. Consideration of the problem of overlap of

functions between botanical gardens and other

institutions.

Reference Material

One of the main parts of this study is the

bibliographical element; the method by which reference

material has been arranged is as follows:

Each chapter normally consists of two parts.

The first contains the subject material, for example a

discussion of the function in question. In the second

part, notes are given on relevant literature. Inevitably,

there are some references in the first part of a chapter

to books and other source material but usually only a

brief reference is given there, with more detailed infor-

mation in the second part.

Full details of the literature are given in the

alphabetical bibliography at the end of this thesis.

Additionally, Chapter 2 is devoted to an appraisal

of key documents which are basic to an understanding of'

the present-day work of British botanical gardens.

These documents consist of material such as conference

proceedings, international resolutions relevant to the

7

work of the gardens, and international legislation,

where it affects their development.

Existing literature

Four main categories of subject literature are

of importance and relevance in connection with the theme

of this study.

These are:

a) scientific,

b) historical,

c) background literature of a popular type, in certain

subject areas, including information on gardens and

gardening in general,

d) specific material on (mainly British) botanical

gardens and the community, from a social point of

view.

Each category is discussed in more detail in the

following paragraphs.

a) Scientific literature

This material is, naturally, of a specialist nature.

(Articles with a strong scientific base but directed to the

general public are dealt with under popular literature.)

The truly specialized scientific literature, whether

books, journal articles, conference papers, or reports to

various bodies, is, of course, written by, and for, experts

in the field concerned; its importance can be adequately

8

assessed only by a subject expert. Such literature is

not included here, as its particular focus is not in the

mainstream of the issues considered in the present study.

The theme of this survey, as earlier noted, is the

social, or community, importance of modern botanical gardens

in Great Britain. For this purpose, advanced studies on,

for example, plant breeding, or many aspects of experimental

botany, are not of immediate relevance.

However, much advanced research material in journals

was noted in the course of two online searches made during

the investigation. The data bases available are, predictably,

weighted on the side of scientific rather than social studies,

though the scope of the material varies very widely and some

unexpected types of find were made during the search.

Any material found of a standard and content suitable

for this study was considered. The remainder, by far the

greater part, was noted as expert literature useful here

as background information.

b) Historical information

The historical background is essential to the under-

standing of any present-day institution. For British

botanical gardens, which have their origin in several

distinct predecessors, it is especially important.

In a historical sense, as in the modern context, it

is virtually impossible to keep entirely separate the

different aspects of the functions of these gardens.

9

Originating as they did in different individual types

of establishment, the various activities became inter-

mixed. However, one particular function, economic

botany as applied to the development of new food crops,

may, at certain times and in certain overseas gardens

only, have been the most significant in the general

picture.

Reference to informative literature on historical

aspects is given in the later, bibliographical, part of

the chapter.

In a study devoted, like the present one, to contem-

porary aspects, the historical background has to remain

as background.

The rate of change in the circumstances affecting

gardens has made it necessary to restrict detailed coverage

of the literature to the years from 1970 to approximately

1982. These are the key years covered by the subject

study. Although recent developments sometimes have their

origins in earlier events, the modern functions of the

gardens have been most significantly shaped during the

years in question.

c) Background literature

Some topics are comparatively self-contained and

sharply circumscribed; it is then easier to set bounds

to the areas of subject literature which are strictly

relevant.

10

The theme of British botanical gardens, in their

social context within the community, is by its nature

very difficult to treat in a precise way.

It impinges on many other areas, through its

connection with botany, horticulture, amenity, public

information, education, recreation and conservation, to

mention only the most important considerations. The

subject therefore has both scientific aspects (botany,

horticulture, and the practical basis of conservation)

and social ones, as far as the other connections are

concerned.

The range of subject literature which may be relevant

is therefore very wide. This is especially true as regards

the popular press; books and journals, even if not devoted

to botanical gardens as such, may contain information useful

as background or for comparison. As an example, the

working practice of commercial nurseries, in horticulture,

or of government-controlled stations, in experimental botany,

may be an important parallel study to the work of botanical

gardens. (The whole question of overlap between modern

British botanical gardens and other statutory or voluntary

organizations is considered in Chapter 10.)

Although the amount of modern literature to be

monitored is considerable, frequently the articles dealing

with gardens and gardening treat them in a fairly general

way, with often only a brief reference to a botanical garden

included.

11

Specific material: British botanical gardens and the

community

The fourth category of literature consists of that

most directly connected with the present study. There

are some popular articles devoted to the description of

British botanical gardens, though they are not frequent.

(Books and journals tend to cover the historical aspects

more than the present scene.)

On the relationship between present-day British

botanical gardens and the comnTunity of which they form a

part, there is not much reference material. As institutions

in the social rather than the scientific sense, they have

attracted less attention in print than might be expected.

Studies, as already mentioned, have been made of

historical aspects. As the contemporary scene has altered

so considerably, for reasons discussed here, later, it is

to be expected that more literature in this category will

be forthcoming. There are indications that the bibliographical

situation is improving, especially in the light of the

international conference of autumn [985, in Las Palmas.

Grenville Sheringhaxn wrote an interesting series of

descriptive articles in QC & HTJ magazine, to which more

detailed attention is given in the bibliographical section.

In one of these articles (19 November 1982) he made reference

to the present project, of which he had heard, as being:

jn my view, a very important and neglected field of study".

12

On account of the gap in easily available literature,

the bibliographic content of this study, as already stated,

has been given emphasis as one of its main elements.

It has not proved in practice that a meaningful

distinction can be made between the functions of modern

British gardens and the practice operative in the institutions

of their European neighbours. Although no attempt has been

made to monitor foreign literature exhaustively, some items

may be mentioned. In Blumenparadiese und Botanische G&rten

(Reisigl, H., ed.), an essay deals with an aspect of the

subject, the division of garden visitors into categories,

which appears not to have been previously discussed elsewhere,

although it is clearly important. The article from

Blumenparadiese is discussed in detail under reference

material, later in this chapter.

European Conservation Year in 1970 stands out as a

landmark, the beginning of the recent rapid developments in

British botanical gardens, as in some foreign gardens also.

The previous year was in some ways the forerunner to these

developments. The Botanical Society of the British Isles

held a conference in 1969, in preparation for the coming

Conservation Year.

It is especially interesting, therefore, to look

at the comments made in 1969 by Sir George Taylor, then

Director of Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, and by Edward Hyams,

both writing in the fine volume Great Botanical Gardens of

the World (HyamsandMacQuitty, 1969). Sir George Taylor,

13

as a world authority, wrote the preface, in which he

says:

Botanical gardens should, in mostcivilized countries, aim to besources of aesthetic and intellectualdelight, and they have become aproud part of the national heritage,making the science of botany thehandmaiden of horticulture....

But setting is not everything andin one sense there is more meritin creating a lovely, scientificallyand socially valuable garden in theugly and difficult conditions of acity, than with all the advantagesof the open country.

In his introductory essay to the above book, Edward

Hyams says of botanical gardens that their aims have been

in the past, and remain, several in number. He describes

these aims in the following words:

Botanical gardens have served, andcontinue to serve, three major andmany minor purposes. In the firstplace, by the comparative study ofthe plants collected in them and theherbarium material collected by them,the modern sciences of taxonomic andexperimental botany have been developed.Taxonomy is concerned with the systemof classification and nomenclature,which gives clear expression to thekinship groups into which plants fall.In the case of green, flowering plants,for example, it has erected a grandand noble scheme establishing thenatural relationships between overa quarter of a million species.Experimental botany is concerned withestablishing the anatomy, cytologyand metabolism of plants.

Secondly, the applied science ofeconomic botany has been so practisedin botanic gardens that they have served

1k

as acclimatization stations throughwhich economically valuable plantssuch as rubber, coffee, tea, chocolate,cotton, hemp, vanilla and scores ofothers native to only one part of theworld have been introduced to andestablished in others.

In the third place, there has been thespecifically horticultural service ofbotanical gardens. Since the emphasisin such gardens has necessarily been onbotany - a science - rather than ongardening - an art - this service haschiefly consisted in the trial, selection,hybridization and distribution intohorticultural commerce of thousands ofnew or improved kinds of both useful andornamental garden plants. In one or twogreat botanical gardens, however, thelessons of garden designing have beentaught, too. Because two great gardendesigners have been concerned in layingit out, Kew is an object lesson inlandscape gardening; so is Edinburgh,to which the best school of landscapegardening in the world is attached;and there are others in other lands.

An event of considerable importance in the horti-

cultural world was the exhibition put on by the Victoria

and Albert Museum in 1979. Described as the biggest

exhibition ever mounted on British gardening history, it

was entitled The Garden: a celebration of' 1OOO years of

British Gardening. An official publication was produced

to accompany the exhibition, in the form of a collection

of contributions by garden authorities. This volume was

afterwards published as a book which is of great value in

the study of gardens past and contemporary.

In the present context it deserves reference for

the essay by Ray Desmond, already mentioned in this chapter,

on the history of British botanical gardens. Ray Desmond

15

was for some years Librarian at Kew. His chapter is a

model of concise writing, giving much interesting infor-

mation in a very readable style.

Another interesting account, though much older,

of the history of botanical gardens is provided by an

address delivered by Lord Britton at a meeting in the

USA in 1896. This, also, is primarily a bibliographical

item, mentioned and quoted later in this chapter. It

is another example showing that the history of the subject

has been fairly fully described elsewhere in the literature.

This was an important factor in the decision not to

elaborate extensively in this account on the historical

aspect of the gardens, which is, in any case, not the main

theme here.

Owing to the rapid changes, already referred to,

which have taken place in recent years, resulting from

new pressures in theworid generally, the period covered

in thorough detail, both from a subject and a bibliographical

point of view, is limited in the present survey, as

already stated, to the time from 1970 to about 1982.

The origins of these developments were foreshadowed

before 1970 and early developments are mentioned; changes

are continuing and will no doubt extend to the coming

decades. The years from 1970 to 1982, however, seem

especially significant, as the time when many new ideas

came to have a decisive influence on the functions served

by the botanical gardens of Great Britain.

16

General literature

The material included here is that relevant to

British botanical gardens generally. Specific material

on individual functions of the gardens is cited in the

bibliographical section of the appropriate chapter.

1. Printed guide to individual gardens

If a particular garden is regularly open to the

public, it is usual for a guide to be available for visitors.

Such guides obviously afford an easy and authoritative source

of information about the particular gardens. The guides

are often well illustrated, and usually sold at a reasonable

price, as part of the publicity for the garden.

The contents vary. For the Sheffield Botanical

Gardens there are two leaflets; the first, now unfortunately

out of print, is a history of the Gardens, the other is a

straightforward guide to the grounds as they are today.

At other places, the historical material forms part of the

guide itself. Chapter 9 discusses the subject of garden

guides, and contains a selection of extracts as examples of

differing styles.

2. Online search material

To discuss online material separately from literature

discovered through a manual search may suggest a false

distinction, since the end product is the same.

As some very interesting background material resulted

17

from the two online searches made during this work, this

source is worth mentioning.

Very little was found of a specific nature on the

botanical gardens of Great Britain. On botanical gardens

worldwide, with their activities and problems, there was a

wealth of material, though much of it very specialized and

intended for the scientist.

The best data bases for the so-called

aspects studied here were found to be BIOSIS PREVIEWS

(Biological Abstracts Inc.), ENYIROLINE, CRIS/USDA, and

to some extent CAB (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau) and

Social Abstracts Inc.

The facility used was Lockheed Dialog.

A sample of 10 entries from an online search is

included at the end of the alphabetical bibliography.

Its purpose is to give an indication of the type of material

which can be traced by this means.

3. Hyams, Edward and MacQuitty, W. Great botanical

gardens of the world (1969)

This authoritative work, although some years old,

remains a landmark in the history of garden literature.

Edward Hyams was widely known and respected as an expert

on gardens. The photographs by William )4acQuitty match

the standard of the text. The Preface was written by

Sir George Taylor, then Director of RBG Kew.

18

This Preface and the introductory essay by Edward

Hyams contain observations which are as interesting and

valuable today as when they were first written. (Extracts

are quoted earlier in the chapter.)

It seems certain that the book will long remain

amongst the really significant works on botanical gardens.

As far as book production is concerned this is a volume

which does justice to its subject.

The gardens in Great Britain which are included are

those of Kew, Oxford University and Edinburgh.

Sheringham, Grenville

[A series of six articles on the functions of

contemporary British botanical gardens published

in GC & HTJ magazine in 1982.J

This series of articles was preceded by a lively

correspondence in the magazine on modern British botanical

gardens. The letters showed an interesting variation of

opinions amongst the professionals. Grenville Sheringham's

survey was undertaken as a result of this interest. As a

lanscape gardener, the author has brought to his series of

articles a professional interest in funding, staffing,

maintenance and the practical problems facing the gardens

at a time of rapidly rising labour costs.

He has also considered the functions of' education,

research, recreation and conservation, highlighting one

garden in connection with each of these functions. The

19

gardens selected he considered to be outstanding examples,

illustrating the particular functions. For 'innovative

management' he commends especially the Botanic Garden

of the University of Bristol. Within the limits of

space in a periodical, the author has provided a good

factual survey of how the various functions of gardens

are served. He is personally a keen advocate for the

opening of more gardens to the public.

5. Reisigl, Herbert,ed. Bluinenparadiese und Botanische

Grten der Erde (1980)

The longer part of this very well produced and

illustrated book is devoted to various localities in the

world where the flora is particularly rich, and to some

of the finest great gardens, for example that on the island

of Mainau in Lake Constance.

There are in addition essays with material of interest

about modern botanical gardens.

The introduction, by Herbert Reisigl, speaks of the

gardens considerable importance, now and in the future.

He says:

We have also included in this book thebotanical gardens, which in our world,becoming ever more rapidly impoverished,not only serve as aesthetically attractive,but are also becoming more and more aliving museum, a 'Noah's Ark of the 21stcentury for the plants.

Another essay, entitled 'Freude und Leid mit einem

Botanischen by Gustav Schoser, Director of the

20

Palmengarten at Frankfurt am Main, discusses the practical

work of caring for a botanical garden. It is interesting

that he mentions the different members of the team involved

in such an enterprise, and, as a philosophical study

of the life, it could apply to any botanical garden.

He stresses the importance of the contribution made by

each worker, from the administrator to the practical

gardener (p ii).

Another notable feature of this essay is a list of

the categories of visitors to a botanical garden. These

categories he discusses and lists as follows:

The plants in a botanical garden arenot there for their own benefit. Theydo not need to be a living museum or evensimply a guide to the world of botany.The plants are there for the people.They ought to attract a person, teachhim to marvel, set him questions. Inthis service to man lies all the truejustification for the expenditure of abotanical garden, the garden finds inthis connection its clear raisonWithout the interested people, theenquiring, the enthusiasts, this collectionof plants would certainly be somethingliving, but without pulsating life,without 'feedback'. What kind of peoplecome into the botanical garden?

(1) Those hungry for learning. They wish,for professional reasons, to widen anddeepen their knowledge, to acquire anddigest information. They wish (or areobliged) to learn to understand thelife of plants. They are people of'all age groups.

(2) The professionals. They expectstimulating ideas and the answers toquestions.

(3) The amateurs. They have special prefer-ences and interests. They are very keento learn and at the same time they areknowledgeable.

21

(4) The aesthetes. They seek throughknowledge what is living, beautiful,sublime. They are open-minded andenthusiastic.

(5) The egocentrics. They are seekingself-confirmation, they already knoweverything, they know all the plants,they collect what they can reach, inorder to possess it.

(6) The casual visitors. Chance (perhapsone of the mass media or some otherpublicity?) has attracted them into thegarden. They are almost the mostimportant visitors. They come in hopeand curiosity, they are open-minded andreceptive. They want to experiencelife and learn to understand thingsbetter.

We must therefore present and prepare thebotanical garden at one and the same timeas a garden' and a 'pleasure garden'.

6. International Directory of Botanical Gardens

3rd ed. (1977)

This directory, issued and periodically updated by

the International Association of Botanical Gardens, may

fairly be described as a general work on botanical gardens.

As it lists gardens by country, however, and is intended to

include only those open to the public, it is referred to in

Chapter 9, which contains a list of gardens open to the

public, rather than in the present section.

7. Conferences: reports of proceedings

The published Proceedings of international conferences

on botanical gardens, especially those which have been held

at Kew and at Cambridge University, are also genera1 material.

They are extremely important, indeed basic, to an understanding

of the activities of modern botanical gardens, including those

22

in Great Britain. They, together with other material,

are included in Chapter 2 on Ky Documents, and are not

discussed in this chapter.

8. Britton, Nathaniel Lord. Botanical gardens:

origin and development (1896)

Although the detailed history of botanical gardens

is outside the main subject of this thesis, it is useful

to consider an occasional older source, for comparison.

This important lecture, delivered nearly a century ago(A.F.P. ․ )

in the USA, is still of much interest. tilL.Brittonsas:

The cultivation of plants within smallareas fur their healing qualities by themonks of the Middle Ages appears to havebeen the beginning of the modern botanicalgarden, although these mediaeval gardensdoubtless took their origin from othersof greater antiquity. Botanical gardenswere thus primarily formed for purelyutilitarian purposes, although the aestheticstudy of planting and of flowers mustdoubtless have appealed to their owners andvisitors. Their function as aids inscientific teaching and research, the onewhich at present furnishes the dominatingreason for their existence, did not developmuch, if at all, before the sixteenthcentury, and prior to the middle of theseventeenth century a considerable numberexisted in Europe in which this functionwas recognized to a greater or less degree,of which those at Bologna, Montpellier,Leyden, Paris and Upsala were perhaps themost noteworthy. The ornamental anddecorative taste for planting had meanwhilebeen slowly gaining ground, as well as thedesire to cultivate rare or unusual species,and during the eighteenth century attaineda high degree of development. Many personsof wealth and influence fostered this tasteand became, through the employment of menskilled in botany and horticulture, generouspatrons of science. The world was searchedfor new and rare plants, which were broughthome to Europe for cultivation, and many

A

,23

sumptuous volumes, describing and de-lineating them, were published, mainlythrough the same patronage. The oldergardens were essentially privateinstitutions, but as the rights of thepeople became more and more recognized,many existing establishments and anincreasing number of newly founded onesbecame, to a greater or less extent,open to the public, either through anadmittance fee or without charge. Thefour main elements of the modern botanicalgarden have thus been brought into itsuccessively.

1. The utilitarian or economic.

2. The aesthetic.

3. The scientific or biologic.

k. The philanthropic.These four elements have been givendifferent degrees of prominence, dependingmainly upon local conditions, some gardensbeing essentially aesthetic, some mainlyscientific, while in our public parks wefind the philanthropic function as theunderlying feature, usually accompaniedby more or less of the aesthetic andscientific.

9. Hepper, F.N. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew: Gardens

for Science and Pleasure (1982)

Books on individual botanic gardens are not routinely

included here in the bibliographical section of Chapter 1.

For Kew, however, an exception has been made. Kew is

unique, yet at the same time it epitomises for people all

over the world the picture of a garden'. Its

activities historically are of the greatest importance and

its work at present is as significant as it ever was.

This illustrated volume, produced in the pleasant

format which is nowadays the hallmark of H. N. Stationery

24

Office publications, is intended for the general reader

rather than the specialist. At the same time it is not

meant to be only a guide (there is a paperback guide of

the usual type in addition), but rather as a souvenir

volume or a work of general interest. Some idea of the

scope of this volume can be obtained from the publisher's

note, as follows:

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew andat Wakehurst Place, annexe inthe Sussex countryside, have an inter-national reputation for their beauty,their remarkable collection of plantsand their scientific research. Therange of plants grown outdoors perhapsbecause of the notorious British climateand despite the far from ideal soilconditions at Kew itself is trulyastonishing. However, in addition tothose plants sufficiently hardy to begrown without protection there are manymore, including tropical orchids, treeferns, desert cacti, miniature alpinesand giant waterlilies, for which specialconditions are required, such as thoseprovided by the elegant nineteenth-century Palm House.

Though the ornamental value andhistorical associations of Kew andWakehurst Place will always remainimportant attractions to their manyvisitors, the primary function of thesegardens is to serve as scientificcollections for what many consider tobe the world's leading institutiondevoted to the study of plants.

This handsomely illustrated book, towhich many members of Kew staff havecontributed by writing about their ownfields of work in terms the layman canunderstand, tells the story of Kew'sorigins and development and discussesthe most striking ornamental featuresof the gardens and their livingcollections. To keep these aspectsof the gardens in proper balance with

scientific purpose, it sets thembeside such topics as involvement

25

in botanical expeditions worldwide,the role of 1ev in the classificationand identification of plants, thestudies being carried out by 1ev staffon the structure and reproduction ofplants, and the active participationof 1ev in the urgent task of conservingendangered species.

As well as being a record worthy of thesebeautiful gardens, this book provides afascinating insight into current directionsin plant studies.

10. 1ev Magazine1 The, incorporating Curtis's

Botanical Magazine, Vol. 1-, 1981J

The following note from the Contents page sets out

the objects of this publication:

The 1ev Magazine, which incorporatesCurtis 's Botanical Magazine foundedin 1787, has, in addition, featuresof special interest to botanists andhorticu].turists, plant ecologists andthose with a special interest inbotanical illustration, so providingan international forum for all theseinterests.

This magazine is published tour timesa year, in February, May, August andNovember.

26

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

KEY DOCiThIENTS

Recent Literature

The aim of this chapter is to draw attention to

written sources of particular importance in the study of

modern botanical gardens. Key documents are perhaps

easier to recognize than to define. It may, however, be

said that these are publications certain to have considerable

influence on the development of British botanical gardens

at present and in the future. The material falls into

several categories.

1. National and international legislation

This does not normally affect the functions of the

gardens directly. Legislation in the field of conservation

may do so indirectly by affecting the direction in which

their work develops.

2. National and international organizations:

resolutions and recommendations

There are a number of organizations whose activities

impinge on the work carried out in gardens, especially in

the area of conservation. A detailed text (listed in the

Bibliography) on these conservation bodies is by Robert

Boardman (1981).

The Council of Europe does important work, not least

by encouraging international consideration of common problems.

27

In publishing the observations of eminent scientists

in its journal Naturopa it also draws the attention

of the concerned but non-specialized reader to urgent

problems. Again, much of the literature is mainly

concerned with conservation, but some is more specifically

involved with gardens, such as the recommendations for

mountain garden reserves in Europe, which are very close

in their purpose to that of botanical gardens.

Some of the most important and relevant material

to gardens issued by the Council of Europe in Naturopa

is reproduced here.

3. Conferences and their proceedings

This category contains material which is most

relevant to the functions of botanical gardens. Several

volumes of conference proceedings are essential to the

understanding of the world of modern British, and foreign,

botanical gardens. These publications have already had

a very important influence on the thinking of those engaged

in the direction and the care of the gardens. The papers

contained in them will long continue to exert an influence.

These documents are so basic to the study of gardens that

they are considered in detail later in the chapter. In

brief they consist of:

Resolutions of the International Association of

Botanical Gardens (IABG), meeting in plenary session, at

their conferences, International Conservation Conferences

28

held at Kew in 1975 Ci) and 1978 (2) and the Cambridge

Conservation Conference of 1980 (3) (see below). In

the case of the ICew and Cambridge meetings, the Proceedings

were published during the following year.

Material included in this chapter also appears

elsewhere in the account. As these publications are so

important, they are highlighted by this separate chapter

devoted to such material.

LUBaphical notes

i) Conferences

Since this chapter is bibliographical, there are

no additional references to add in this section. There

are, however, a few general comments which are appropriate

here.

The first is to note the admirable speed of

publication in respect of the three conferences mentioned

earlier in this chapter.

The first Kew Conservation Conference was held in

1975; the Proceedings were published in 1976. The Second

Kew Conference took place in 1978; the Proceedings followed

in 1979. The Cambridge Conference of 1980 was published

(i) Simmons, J.B., Beyer, R.I. and Brandham, P.E.,

(eds) (1976).

(2) Synge, H. and Townsend, H., (eds) (1979)e

(3) Synge, H. (ed) (1981).

29

in 1981. The importance of rapid publication of such

important material is clear. Making the discussions

and papers available to a much wider public greatly

increases the value of the original conference.

The second point concerns the conference titles.

The full titles of the conferences themselves and of the

succeeding printed volumes are given elsewhere in this

text, in the chapter on Conservation. The original,

rather lengthy, titles of the conferences were wisely

converted into more manageable versions as books.

Especially striking is the Second Kew Conference published

as Survival or Extinction, a dramatic title which has a

strong impact and remains in the memory.

The third comment is that the titles, especially

the original ones, underline the conservation aspect, perhaps

to the exclusion of other topics of the conferences. Plant

conservation needs had been the original reason for the

conferences and they provided a strong stimulus for the new

international co-operation which was to follow them.

The conferences were, however, seen as a welcome

opportunity for general discussion, on an international

basis, of the contemporary functions and future aims of

botanical gardens. The subjects of the papers cover a

much wider field than might be imagined from the titles.

The discussions, also, are evidence of a wish to compare

notes about problems and ideas. As the world becomes

increasingly international in outlook it is natural that

those responsible for the care of botanical gardens in

30

different countries should find one anothers' experiences

relevant and useful.

The IABG is the official international body for

botanical gardens, and as such its activities and pro-

nouncements are of great importance to professionals

involved with the work of these gardens. The IABQ's

connection with its parent body, the International Assoc-

iation for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT), adds to its authority.

The proceedings (Resolutions) of the IABQ are

reproduced in the Proceedings of the Second Kew Conservation

Conference.

2) Council of Europe publications

The value of the publications issued by the Council

of Europe has already been stressed. The Council offers

the opportunity for scientific experts to express their

views, so providing a forum for the exchange of ideas.

Two publications particularly relevant to this chapter,

the Resolution on rare and threatened plants, (77) 6,

(1977, reprinted 1982) and the List of rare, threatened and

endemic plants (published for IUCN), are examples of its

valuable work. Kew has a close connection with the latter,

first issued in 1977 and revised in 1983. An Editorial by

Dr. S. 14. Walters, devoted to the List of rare ... plants

is quoted in Chapter 14. (The monthly magazine Naturopa

has been mentioned earlier in this chapter.) The role of

the Council as an informational, advisory body is a valuable

one.

31

NO BIOTOPE NO PROTECTION

Victor Westhoff

Diversity and limits of the flora protection

system

The alarming increase in the impoverishment ofEuropean flora and vegetation can, in principle,lead to four different approaches which attemptto counteract it:

1. the preservation of species;

2. the use of botanical gardens as refugesfor species;

3. education;

1. the conservation of' habitats.

The rapid and accelerating changes in Europeanland use during the last century, due to technicalinnovations as well as to population pressure andincreasing outdoor activities, have brought abouta situation in which only approach number 'k canbe considered a proper, though not an adequateanswer to the problem.

Measures for the protection of species have beenenacted by legislation in many European countries.Such laws and by-laws, however, have a limitedvalue; they aim to prohibit, partially or totally,the picking, destruction, etc. of' rare plantspecies, but they do not have the power to preventhabitat destruction. This can lead to the absurdsituation where a child may be prosecuted forpicking gentians or orchids, while the entirepopulation of the same gentians or orchids, on thesame site, is legally destroyed by bulldozers forland reclamation. In practice, such species-preserving laws or by-laws are only effective inthe case of plant species which are destroyedwholesale by commercial exploitation, e.g. forgardening or pharmaceutical purposes.

Botanical gardens undoubtedly have a specificresponsibility to preserve species which otherwisewould be exterminated. However, the survivalof a plant species for the garden only is a poorsubstitute for the preservation of' wildlife.Moreover, only a restricted number of species can

32

be preserved in gardens, many rare andsensitive, species will notsurvive there. A third restriction isthe vulnerability of this way of creatingsanctuaries: it is entirely dependenton intensive care in a well-to-do society.Last but not least, it is hardly possibleto maintain plant communities in botanicalgardens. Some simple pioneer ecosystems,characteristic of dynamic or disturbedhabitats, can be created artificially,e.g.eutrophic pools and reed-swamps, orroad verges, but it is impossible tocreate all kinds of secondary and climaxecosystems in which the web of life ismuch more complicated and in which historicalfactors form a major part. Man cannot,however, deliberately reconstruct suchbiotic communities (e.g. bogs, grasslandson chalk, alluvial forests and othercomplicated stable environments) in abotanical garden.

The third answer, education, is likewiseinsufficient. As stated by Norman Moorein Naturopa No. 27 (1977), "despite a veryreal and desirable shift in opinionthere is little evidence that educationcan produce the changes quickly enough toconserve wildlife; the economic and fiscalforces which operate in the oppositedirection are too strong. Something morethan education is required". This"something more" then has to be found inhabitat preservation.

A major problem in habitat preservation isan adequate understanding of man's role inchanging the face of the earth. As earlyas 19116 Edward Graham (Natural Principlesof Land Use) proclaimed that such under-standing should be the paramount preoccupationof nature conservationists....

Nature conservation must be a national aim

Finally we must stress that it will not bepossible to preserve all plant species andcommunities in nature reserves, even inthe ideal situation of enough representativereserves being established, with enoughmoney and man-power to manage them properly.Even then reserves would not suffice. Thelong-established, historical, agrarian

33

landscapes with their small-scale diversityare indispensable for the maintenance ofmuch of the European flora and vegetation.The main reason is that many species requirelarger or more Isophisticated environmentaldynamics than they will find in naturereserves. On the other hand, they cannotstand the disturbances of modern farmingtechniques. Such species find theirhabitats in extensively, more or lessirregularly cultivated farmland, uncropped(ruderal) habitats on the farm or on theverges of irregularly trodden pathways("off the beaten track"), or again in thefringes of woodland.

Total polarisation of agriculture andconservation would, therefore, be disastrousfor the preservation of plant species andcommunities. A solution can only be foundby a mixture of measures, as was clearlystated by Norman Moore ( cit). Mostimportant will be the development of anational land use strategy, which wouldstate explicitly that the conservationof nature and landscape, as well as foodand timber production are national aims.

v.w.

Naturopa, No. 31, 1978.

NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Jean-Piex'e Ribaut

The Convention

The most important result of all the scientificwork undertaken by the European Committee isundeniably the Convention on the Conservationof European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.Without the numerous studies on biotopes,management of the natural environment andthe various European "red lists", this legalinstrument would probably have never seenthe light. It was ratified by nine EECcountries in autumn 1982 and the StandingCommittee of the Contracting Parties hasalready held its first meeting. TheEuropean Committee is bound to find itselffurther involved with the Convention, sincethere is general agreement that its pastexperience has made it a scientific bodyunusually well-qualified to play a vitalrole in facilitating the operation andimplementation of the text. Thus theEuropean Committee's studies will make itpossible to extend the appendices to coverfreshwater fish and invertebrates; theywill also help to ensure better protectionfor the most endangered biotopes, etc.Indeed, having regard to the vast aims ofthe Convention, all the Committee'sactivities are bound to help it to functioneffectively.

European network of biogenetic reserves

A wide range of studies will pave the wayfor establishment of the European networkof biogenetic reserves, which is intendedto conserve ecosystems and the biotopes ofplant or animal species which are typical,unique, rare or endangered. But is thereany real need for a new and systematicnetwork of protected areas, at a time whenUNESCO is developing its biospherereserves (as part of the NAB 6 project)and, above all, when nearly every countryhas its national parks, nature parks(regional and otherwise), nature reservesand hunting reserves - the range of names

35

is vastZ We should note, first of all1that the biosphere reserves includevast areas in which human activity ispermitted. As for the national parksand other existing nature reserves,studies carried out by the Council ofEurope and by individual countries haveshown that these do not always includethe most interesting or most endangerednatural habitats. Why, for example,are national parks in Europe invariablylocated in mountain regions? Surelycertain lowland areas also deserve tobe national parks? They undoubtedlydo - and one of the major merits o! theEuropean studies lies inpinpointing the glaring omissions whichstill exist in our European network ofprotected zones.

The potential uses of living species

It is essential that this network ofbiogenetic reserves should includespecimens of' all the species and varietiesof European plant and animal life.Throughout the world, ecological diversityis on the decline: this trend is high-lighted by the fact that 80% of all theworld's foodstuffs is derived from 20plant and animal species. At the sametime, every species has its own potentialuses, many of them unknown, but which maycome to light by accident or as the resultof prolonged research. In the Californiandesert, for example, a bush - the ho-ho-ba -has been found whose berries yield an oilhaving practically the same properties assperm oil. When one realises the economicimportance of sperm oil (and thus ofwhaling), the importance of this discoverybecomes apparent.

The Japanese have found that the best de-tector of radioactivity is the simplespiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana), agarden flower whose cells may changecolour when exposed to radiation.

As a final example of potential usefulness,we can take the water hyacinth (Eichhorniacrassipes), whose reproductive powers,essentially vegetative, have made it agenuine scourge, since it can produce

36

further growth of up to k2kg (greenweight) per day and per m of watersurface. It has recently been foundthat this very plant is capable ofextracting up to 90% of the phosphatescontained in waste-water. It can alsobe used to feed pigs, poultry andlivestock. Finally, it can be processedinto fertiliser or used to produce biogas.Scourge or not, it can thus prove veryuseful.

There are still enormous discoveries tobe made in this field. This is why itis truly vital that we do everything inour power to protect the precious geneticresources which we possess in the animaland plant kingdom.

A scientific foundation

The studies carried out by the EuropeanCommittee are also intended to providea scientific foundation for the definitionof development and management policiesfor our natural resources. The principlesderived from these studies have beenincorporated in the numerous recommendationsadopted by the Committee of Ministers atthe European Committee's suggestion. Theyhave also, of course, been incorporated inthe "wildlife" Convention. In spite ofthese efforts, however, the ecologicalsituation of the countryside, for instance,is steadily deteriorating. In the olddays, hunting was the principal threatto most of the vertebrate species. Mainlysince the agricultural revolution,mechanisation, the spread of cultivationand the growth of one-crop farming, withthe clearing of hedges and levelling ofbanks, have wrought profound changes inthe European landscape. Woodland areas,too, have changed markedly. The resultsare clear for all to see: the landscapehas grown poorer and duller and a frequentlycatastrophic swathe has been cut throughplant and animal species. Where are thebutterflies? Where are the shrikes,warblers and buntings which used to throngthe hedges and wild banks along the countryroads? Several of the Council of Europesbasic studies give a vivid picture, eachin its own area, of this dramatic loss ofecological diversity in our surroundings....

37

Faced with an intractable economic crisis,our world is also facing a second,concealed, more insidious crisis, whichis just becoming apparent and whose trueextent we have yet to measure: thedeterioration and impoverishment of ournatural resources. It is not too lateto put things right, but we must not waittoo long. Scientists, in their work,are sounding the alarm. The time hasnow come for politicians, naturalistsand men of goodwill to launch a crusade,to inform and to educate; for success and,in the long term, the survival of humanitydepend on an evolutionary - indeed arevolutionary - change in the outlookand conduct, not just of politicians andother community leaders, but of everyliving individual.

J.-P.R.

Naturopa, No. Lk2, 1982.

38

Resolution (77) 6ON THE CONSERVATION OF RARE

AND THREATENED PLANTS IN EUROPE(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on

21 February 1977)

The Committee of Ministers,

Recalling that man and all animals are dependentfor their survival on the plant kingdom;

Recognizing that plants (species, sub-species,varieties, etc.) form a genetic resource ofimmeasurable value to mankind and that the economicpotential of the plant kingdom is as yet only partlyrealised;

Recognising the scientific, educational, recreational,aesthetic, cultural and ethical value of plants tomankind;

Noting that the list includes some 1,400 species asrare and/or threatened in Europe, of which more than100 are in imminent danger of extinction and thatthe figure of 1,400 represents approximately onetenth of the total European flora;

Realising that once a species becomes extinct, itcannot be recreated by man, and hence that it is ofthe utmost importance to ensure the conservation of'as many species as possible for the economic, scien-tific and cultural benefit of' mankind;

Recommends that the governments of member States ofthe Council of Europe be guided in their policy inthis matter by the principles set out below:

1. ensure adequate legal protection for allplants identified as endangered in theabove-mentioned list with provision forlicences to be issued for approvedcollection purposes;

2. provide minimum legal protection for allplants against depredations not yet coveredby law;

3. institute or complete national surveys of'plants that are rare or threatened withintheir boundaries for appropriate disseminationand publication. Such surveys should:

39

a. include plants that are rare orthreatened only in particularcountries and therefore notincluded in the list;

b. identify the principal threatsto the plants so listed;

c. specify the action needed toensure their survival;

li. establish nature reserves and designateareas in which vegetation and flora areprotected by law and stimulate thesetting up of nature reserves by privatebodies, with the long-term aim of ensuringthat all species on the list can be foundin such areas and in so doing contributeto the establishment of the Europeannetwork of biogenetic reserves which wasthe subject of Resolution (76) 17;

5. incorporate safeguards in future planningstrategies to protect all species on thelist, as the major threat to many plantsis created by changing patterns of landuse;

6. stimulate, undertake and co-ordinatethrough competent organisations multi-disciplinary research at national orinternational level, with particularemphasis on bringing together informationon plants found in more than one countrywith a view to:

a. extendin.g and improving imowledgeabout the flora of those areas inEurope that are still insufficientlyImown botanically, so as to be ableto make constructive proposals forconservation and planning purposes;

b. promoting studies on the habitat,autoecology and population biologyof each plant on the list to providethe information needed from whichintegrated conservation managementplans can be formulated;

c. promoting studies on the dynamicsand ecology of the vegetation typesin which the plants on the listoccur.

ho

7. Give appropriate support to scientificallybased botanical gardens so that theyhave the facilities they need to propagateand grow the plants on the list and todistribute the propagating material toother institutions and where appropriatere-introduce plants to the wild, with theaim of reducing the pressure on wild plantpopulations and at the same time drawingattention to the aesthetic, cultural andscientific importance of these plants;

8. Ratify for their states, if they havenot already done so, the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Speciesof Wild Fauna and Flora, opened forsignature in Washington on 3 Narch 1973;

9. Acimowledge that the plant kingdom isa dynamic system and needs to be monitoredat stated intervals so that the list canbe revised regularly;

10. Prepare and disseminate codes of conducton rare and threatened plants;

11. Disseminate general information on theneed to protect plants and on the protectivemeasures set out in the Europeanlist.

Naturopa, No. 31, 1978.

'iiSHEFFIELD

UNIYERSrI-yLIBRARY

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

PLANTS FOR TEACHING AND FOR RESEARCH: teaching of

botany 1 supplies of plant material research into

taxonomy, experimental botany

Modern botanical gardens have their origin in

several different types of earlier garden. One of

the major functions of these early institutions was

undoubtedly the scientific collection of plants which

was maintained to instruct students of medicine in the

properties of the herbs which they would need to use as

drugs in treating sickness. It was of the greatest

importance that they should learn to recognize the plants

individually and to know the properties which each one

had (or was believed to have) in curing disease. Such

gardens were known as physic gardens and some still

retain this name in their present title, e.g. the Chelsea

Physic Garden, and, until the nineteenth century, the

Oxford (now Botanic) Garden, famous as the oldest in

England. The hortus medicus was, in its early stages,

closely connected with Faculties of Medicine, since it

was intended for instruction and study, for doctors and

medical students. Later, with the acquisition of new

plants from overseas in great numbers, the attachment of

botanical gardens to Medical Schools became less marked

and such gardens were transferred to the care of Professors

of Botany, the focus of these gardens having become

scientific rather than medical. They then had the function

of a collection used to instruct students examining the

42

plants from a scientific rather than a medical point of

view.

Present-day universities, with their double purpose

of teaching and research, continue this tradition. The

modern student of botany needs to see living plant

collections as well as dried specimens in the herbarium.

The university botanical garden is therefore an integral

part of a Department of Botany.

In these circumstances the first priority is providing

for the needs of the Department, whether in teaching or in

research. This does not mean that University botanical

gardens do not, and should not, carry out other activities.

A number of them are open to the public, especially, it

appears, in towns where there is no municipal botanical

garden. These university gardens are paying considerable

attention to amenity and public education. Their activities

in these fields are discussed in later chapters.

Nevertheless, if the point is raised, as it is from

time to time, that botanical gardens need to justify their

existence in terms of' value for money, the contribution

which university gardens make in the work of a Department

of Botany is sufficient to remove them from any suspicion

of being expendable luxuries. Some university gardens

are almost entirely restricted to the teaching and research

work of their own Department, and this situation is some-

times indicated by their name of 'Experimental' Garden

rather than that of Botanical Garden.

"3

Without going into detail about the scientific

work in which gardens are involved, this chapter

discusses the different aspects of their activities

in the capacity of open-air, or glasshouse, plant

collections. Some of the experimental work in progress

in these gardens is also referred to, though this is

intended as a sample only and is not comprehensive.

The collection of dried plant material in the

herbarium is also of major importance in both teaching

and research. The greatest herbaria in this country

are at the British Museum (Natural History) and at Kew.

Smaller collections serve a practical purpose in other

institutions, especially when they contain specimens of

the local flora, some species of which may no longer be

found in the district.

The emphasis of this account is particularly on

the changes which have taken place in recent years, and

which continue to occur in botanical gardens. It is

worth noting, however, that the functions of teaching

and research are in no sense new but are in a long-

established tradition. The content of the teaching and

the objectives of the research are set in the context of

modern scientific knowledge, but the functions themselves

are basically the same as in the past. They provide an

element of continuity where many things are rapidly

changing.

If the amount of plant material required for teaching

purposes justifies it, a garden may exist specifically

to satisfy such a demand. The Botanical Supply Unit of

London University at Egham (Englefield Green) is a good

example. Similar arrangements may be advantageous for

classroom supplies in schools; in some cases they already

exist.

At Hanover there is a very successful arrangement

in operation. A central unit supplies plant material to

all the schools in the town, an economical mode of operation

much to be recommended. It is not necessarily the function

of a botanical garden to carry out such a scheme, however,

and if space is limited it may not even be advisable to

attempt it.

This function of providing plant material for

education and study is easily appreciated. No attempt

at detailed discussion of individual research projects on

plants is made here, though no detraction is implied from

the importance of this function. Since research is one

of the main constituents of academic work, it is obviously

in the botanical gardens of universities and of other

educational institutions that experimental botany is likely

to be pursued, rather than in the municipal botanical gardens.

In the latter the purpose is different, because of their

differing origin and role in relation to the community.

The distinction to be made between Ipure

research and research which is carried out for definite

economic reasons is not always as clear-cut as it might

1j5

seem. Research specifically motivated by some economic

purpose, whether connected with food, medicine, domestic

or commercial uses, is discussed in Chapter 4. 'Pure'

research, originally undertaken to increase scientific

knowledge, may well, of course, result in discoveries

which later prove to have important practical uses.

At a time of financial stringency it is understandable

that work directed towards a definite commercial end may

receive more favourable treatment from the bodies responsible

for funding such projects. Nevertheless it would be unwise

to accept too easily the idea that research for its own

sake is expendable. Valuable advances have come in the

past from work which looked unlikely to produce economic

results, and even if it is not given the highest priority

it would be short-sighted to discontinue it. This problem

affects mainly the gardens of academic institutions. In

botanical gardens administered by local authorities, research

normally forms only a small part of the activities and so

this particular problem scarcely arises.

Any assessment of the importance of the research

function in botanical gardens needs to recognize that other

bodies are also engaged in scientific research on rather

similar lines. The Experimental Horticulture Stations

of MAFF carry out research to assist commercial growers

of vegetables, fruit and flowers and to find new and better

varieties for the market. They undertake detailed programmes

on which they report to the horticultural trade; they also

hold open days at the various stations, which growers can

46

attend. The responsibilities of the Forestry Commission

include pure as well as economically-based research on

trees, especially conifers. Their research stations,

for example the one at Alice Holt Lodge, carry out research

of very considerable importance.

The research aspect of the modern botanical garden's

work is different from the situation in earlier centuries,

when the institutions mentioned above did not exist. While

the roles of the various organizations are similar, they

are not identical, and it may be concluded that botanical

gardens serve a research function that only they can exercise.

The discussed in this chapter is the

scientific education of botanists and hoxticulturists.

Professional training of hoxticulturists, leading to a

formal qualification, is undertaken by the two national

gardens, at lew and Edinburgh. Horticultural education

is also provided at colleges of Agriculture and Horticulture,

a number of which have interesting and important special

plant collections.

The educational services provided for the general

public (e.g. talks and demonstrations), whether in botanical

matters or in gardening practice, are treated in Chapter 7

on Public information and education services, public

recreation facilities.

An interesting custom connected with the training

of young gardeners at Kew still survives. This is the

annual 'Clog and Apron' race for apprentices, held for many

years. It is described in a Press Notice as follows:

The event recaptures some of theancient apprenticeship traditionsand colour of former days. Thecompetitors - all of whom work atthe Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew -dressed in horticultural aprons andheavy clogs, will pound the fulllength of Broad Walk, a wide, 375yard long avenue running between thePalm House Pond and the Orangery,constructed in the 1840's to a designby W. A. Nesfield, the famous Victorianlandscape gardener. Lady studentsare given a 50 yard start.

It is pleasant to find a traditional custom still

being observed when so much has changed in the horticultural

world. To maintain some links with the past seenm specially

important at a time when technology is developing so fast

that it is difficult for the ordinary man and woman to

understand its implications.

One sign of changing attitudes to the public, on the

part of gardens formerly devoted entirely to research, may

perhaps be found in the opening of Chelsea Physic Garden

for a few hours each week. After the centuries when it

was restricted to research workers and students, the new

managers decided to allow the public restricted access to

it as from April 1983. A new administration has led to

different conditions. This made the decision easier and

more desirable than it would have been formerly. Initially

the garden was opened only on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons

and at Bank Holidays.

Botanical gardens are sometimes accused of thinking

48

only about their research, thus preventing the public

from enjoying the amenities which the gardens can offer.

This is not an easy choice, however, and the problems

of the gardens' owners and/or managers should be

sympathetically understood. The conditions needed for

research projects do not always combine easily with the

presence of visitors. It is not necessarily a desire

for exclusiveness which leads to gardens being closed

to all but a restricted few. Opinions vary according

to the point of view of the individual, both within the

gardens and in the community. Some compromise seems the

best solution that can be found.

Modern Research Projects

The following list is a selection of current or

recent research projects at botanical gardens in Great

Britain. The choice of projects has been made from those

mentioned in replies to Grenville Sheringham's questionnaire

in 1982, with regard to the research activities of the

gardens.

Replies showed a wide range of research schemes, and

they have been chosen to demonstrate something of the variety

of important work currently being carried out. Predictably,

some of the research in progress reflects the special

knowledge and interests of the staff of the Department of

Botany, possibly that of the Head of Department. Such

work as the preparation of Floras and plant identification

is found particularly, and expectedly, at Kew and Edinburgh.

Some similarities appear, however, between the type of

research being undertaken at different institutions.

This is especially so in the gardens of academic

establishments, since the work of the garden is there

geared to the specific needs of the academic department.

Acknowledgement has already been expressed to

Mr. G. Sheringham, for permission to include this

information, which he collected when he was preparing his

series of articles for GC & HTJ magazine.

The projects fall into various categories, such

as:

Taxonomy: taxonomic work on selected families and genera,

identification (Kew), reclassification (Edinburgh),

work on preparation of Floras (Kew)

Biosystematics

Fern work (pteridological)

Ecology

Pollination ecology

Cytology

Genetic studies: plant breeding (especially Egham)

Plant pathology: work on fungal diseases; Mycology

Parasitism

Palatability of plants for snails etc.

Experimental horticulture. Economic value of plants.

Full entries for the research projects selected for

inclusion here are given below, as they were set out on

the questionnaire returns.

50

Research in Botanical Gardens

Germination of British orchids

(Bristol University)

Includes taxonomy of Geranium and work for the newEuropean Garden Flora

(Cambridge University)

Flowering behaviour of field beans

(Durham University)

A long programme of study of mutants produced by hardradiation just finished. Joint study with RHS intoloss of rust resistance in Antirrhinum and subsequentbreeding programme. Storage problems in the carrot.Plant breeding improvement in Teff' (Eragrostis abyssinica)varieties (Ethiopia). Striga parasitism on Sorghum.Orobariche parasitism on several different economic species.Fungal diseases on Pistachio. Investigation of the causeof grain sprouting in the head of' Wheat, and a possiblecure. Several different taxonomic problems. 12 differentseed multiplication projects.

(EGHAN - London University Botanical Supply Unit)

(ENGLEFIELD GREEN)

Mycology. Several investigations into important fungaldiseases, i.e. Rhizoctonia solani on lettuce;Ascochyta fabae on beans; Scierotium cepivorumon alliums; Phomopsis sclerotioides on cucumbers.Antibiotic production by Rhizoctonia sPp.

Genetics Unit. Cyanogenesis.

Ecology. Internal aeration in roots.

(Hull University)

51

Herbarium - k-5 million dried plants, 33,000 preservedflowers in jars, fruits and seeds for preparation offloras and other taxonomic work and identification(50,000 a year). Staff botanists assisting on florasof Cyprus, Iraq, East Africa and elsewhere.

'ICew records current research.

'Index Kewensis' records new generic and specific namechanges.

Library - nearly million items, many old and rare.Annual bibliography published.

Jodrell Laboratory - research, mainly anatomical.Currently looking at problems of seed germination -important for conservation.

(Kew Royal Botanic Gardens)

Ecological

Pathological

Bio systematic

Pt eridolo gi cal

(Leeds University)

Taxonomy of Ribes and of various European grasses, includingFestuca and Brachypodium. Photobiology of plants.

(Leicester University)

Natural selection due to extreme environmental conditions,e.g. lead, copper wastes, sulphur dioxide - separateexperimental area can look irrelevant to public. Createdartificial kO yard by kO yard waste site - annual meadowgrass. Use of some herbicides - effect on plants.Development of resistant crops.

(Ness Gardens, Liverpool University)

52

An enormous variety, from cytological/genetical workon, e.g. Koelerja to work on NIT [Nutrient film technique,crop growth, plant pathology etc.

(Manchester University)

1) Taxonomy of Genisteae2) Taxonomy of Vicieae3) Biosystematics of Silene4) Aphid ecology5) Beetles on cereals6) Genetics and behaviour of blackbirds7) Pollination ecology of Ulex, Cytisus etc.8) Plant palatability experiments9) Vicia and Psophocarpus plant breeding10) Cereal rusts

ii)

Bee keeping, also Reptile and Amphibian enclosures

(University Botanic Garden, Southampton)

Conifers and RhododendronsPhododendrons - reclassification, taxonomyGesneriac eaeGingers - taxonomy, distributionConifers

(Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh)

Some orchid research

(Glasgow City)

Taxonomy of wild British Composites such as ANTHENIS,cHRYSANTHEMUM, and these plots are located in the mainBotanic Garden.

(Swansea University College)

53

Chapter 3

Reference Material

1) Walters, S.M., The shaping of Cambridge botany (1981)

The formal teaching and the research carried out in

the botanical garden of a university or college are the

responsibility of the academic department concerned.

Literature on the subject, often in periodical form, is

usually of a specialized scientific nature and is outside

the scope of the present account.

This authoritative history of the Cambridge University

Botanic Garden by its Director, with a chapter on the modern

garden, can, however, be enjoyed by the general reader as

well as by the specialist.

Predictably, great emphasis is placed on the invaluable

Cory Bequest which has made possible many important

developments during the modern period of the Garden's

existence. The name of Reginald Cory is commemorated by

Cory Lodge, the house which is the official home of the

Garden's Director. Dr. Walters writes:

The happy, successful partnership ofJohn Gilmour as Director and Bob Youngeras Superintendent in the task of extendingthe Garden to its total site is suchrecent history that the process theyso effectively initiated and shaped isnot yet quite complete. So far asUniversity teaching and research areconcerned, the combination of Cory moneyand new direction brought about withinten years the realisation of the visionthat Bateson had had half a centuryearlier, namely the establishment onthe former allotment land of the present'Research and Experimental Area',

5k

including a new laboratory andservice building erected in 1956and its adjacent glasshouse andfield plot facilities. Withinthe Garden itself, the new Directorinstituted a two-year studentgardener training scheme, whichhappily combined the need for alarger labour force with theprovision of valuable training inhorticultural botany. For thegeneral public, the 'new look' wasmost obvious in the construction ofthe limestone rock-garden by theLake, and in the entirely new featuresin the 'New Area', such as the scentedgarden and the unique chronologicalbed. .

In these, as in several other ways,we can now see the Garden fulfillinga role not essentially different fromthe one which Walker and Henslow intheir different periods foresaw,perhaps more consciously and, so faras conservation is concerned, moreurgently and practically. The newconcern for an ecologically-basedconservation role is particularlyfitting in the Tansley tradition,for the whole of the official provisionfor the conservation of nature in thiscountry is heavily indebted to Tansley,who typically saw the need and offeredboth an outline scheme and his personalservice in the post-war establishmentof' the Nature Conservancy. As arepresentative of that generation -the first - which grew up in anatmosphere of concern for the fate ofwild plants and animals, I can see mypersonal indebtedness to Tansley throughthe influence of his pupil, Sir HarryGodwin. A Cambridge tradition ofenthusiasm for the whole plant 'inthe field', involving scientific studyin the garden and in the laboratory,is something which I have come toappreciate with increasing force overthe years: it is a tradition whichshows every sign of helping futuregenerations as it undoubtedly helpedpast ones.

55

2) Mason, Jerry, four acres of physic.

New Scientist, 19 April 1984, pp 40-1.

This interesting account was written to mark the

beginning of the second year in which Chelsea Physic

Garden opened its doors, for a few hours a week, to the

general public. The first years opening had proved a

considerable success.

The article mentions a number of important research

projects, some based at the Garden in the past and some

which are current. The account also refers to some of

the very unusual plants and trees to be found there. It

is illustrated with general views of the Garden, as well

as with some close-up photographs of plants.

56

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

ECONOMIC BOTANY (1): plants with domestic and medicinal

uses

The gardens of monasteries and convents 1 where

plants were grown for medicinal use in the religious

community and for treating local people, are one of the

origins of the modern botanical garden. From the Middle

Ages until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, herbs were

cultivated in monastic gardens, their curative properties

known and the knowledge handed on. After the Dissolution,

country people were left without this care and began to

grow herbs in their own gardens, for medicinal and other

domestic purposes, on a much wider scale. This is the

origin of the traditional cottage garden so well known

outside this country as an essential part of the English

country scene.

Of interest is the recent revival in herbal

remedies and the frequent publication of books on herbs.

Such remedies have always been available, from herbalists,

for those who preferred them to more usual drugs, but

recently the demand has grown. New herbal and health

food shops are opened. Articles in the popular press

on herbal remedies are not uncommon.

One old-established firm in Sheffield, founded many

years ago, has reported that business at present is

excellent, with new customers being added to the regular

ones. A lengthy feature article was devoted to this shop

57

in the local press. A journal, The Herbalist,

specializes in information on herbal remedies.

On a wider scale, it has been recognized that

there must be very many other plants, of potential use

to man as cures for various diseases, whose healing

properties are not yet Imown. So-called 'primitive'

peoples have been using medicinal plants for centuries

and so have experienced their effects over a long period.

It is being increasingly realized in western countries

that knowledge of these plants needs to be discovered

while the people of these tribes and the plants themselves

still exist. The study of only a few herbs which seem

to be yielding valuable results in this country suggests

that many more potential remedies might be available.

The great cost of the research required to discover

perhaps only one plant of medicinal value seems a strong

additional reason for trying to get such information

quickly from the native peoples which may point research

in a profitable direction.

Herbaria can be searched for the same purpose,

as has been done in the United States, where an attempt

was undertaken to find plants potentially useful as

drugs (p 6k, Harvard investigation).

The advantage of consulting the native peoples,

especially in the Amazon basin, lies in the fact that

they have already used the drugs for many centuries.

The need for lengthy testing is widely recognized, before

58

new drugs can be safely used as everyday remedies, but

this type of enquiry would reduce the need for such

testing.

The discovery of new herbal drugs from tropical

sources is probably not something likely to involve many

botanical gardens in Great Britain. Kew Gardens are

always active in this field, as is the Chelsea Physic

Garden.

The herb gardens which exist in botanical gardens

in this country, or new ones being planted, are usually

for the interest of students and the public, a type of

demonstration garden or special collection, in fact.

There is a herb garden in Cambridge University Botanic

Garden, a fairly new one at Ness Gardens, and there are

others in National Trust and in various privately-owned

gardens.

Some botanical gardens may have connections in

other ways with research into the use of plants as drugs.

An interesting example was the former contract between

Cambridge University Botanic Garden and ICI, by which the

garden guaranteed to supply each year a quantity of plant

material for research purposes. A member of ICI's staff

was engaged on full-time research using this material.

Some of the new public interest is probably due to

publicity given to plants, and their uses, on television.

Several series of programmes have concerned the use of

herbs for various purposes, including medicinally, and

59

have usually been accompanied by a book on the same

lines, so that the information is made generally

available.

One plant currently being investigated for its

medicinal properties is the feverfew. It is a very

old remedy, once used, as its name suggests, for reducing

fevers. At present it is thought that it may be effective

in the treatment of migraine attacks; clinical trials

are being carried out. This topic was discussed in

some detail during one of Richard Mabey's television

programmes. The plant has also received considerable

publicity in the daily press. Another use of feverfew

might perhaps be in the treatment of rheumatism.

Not only has there been a significant revival of

interest in plants useful for medicinal, culinary and

other domestic purposes, but herb gardens as a form of'

horticulture have enjoyed renewed popularity. A well-

made herb garden is as attractive as it is practical.

Perhaps the link with the past, the continuing of a form

of gardening practised through the centuries, adds to

its appeal for the modern gardener. Kay Sanecki, one

of the experts on the subject, wrote a chapter in the

Victoria and Albert Museum volume (The Garden: a

celebration of' one thousand years of British gardening,

ed by John Harris) included here in the bibliography.

Her essay is discussed in the second part of this chapter.

Enthusiastic gardeners can get helpful ideas from

60

those botanical gardens which have included a herb

garden in their collections. But botanical gardens

have no monopoly of this feature; a number of other

gardens open to the public also have a herb garden

amongst their attractions.

A good example of the use of television in order

to give information about wild plants was Richard Nabey's

series of progranunes 'Back to the Roots' CITy, Channel Ij,

1983). The series had an accompanying book of the same

title, but which includes rather different material.

The research for this series, as for most television

programmes dealing with plants and gardens, seems to

have been carefully conducted. Authorities and organ-

izations are duly acimowledged. It would be difficult

to overestimate the influence of even a single programme,

since its potential audience is so large.

Back to the Roots considered not only the uses of

plants but various aspects of conservation such as the

risk to some fruits, vegetables and older varieties of

roses, now in danger of disappearing. These topics are

dealt with under Conservation (Chapter 8).

Television must be counted amongst the most

important new factors affecting the world as a whole,

and, not least, botanical gardens.

61.

Chapter 4

Economic Botany (1)

Reference Material

In recent years a number of books have been pub-

lished on herbs for the general reader. They cover the

lay-out of a herb garden, growing the plants, and their

uses for various domestic purposes, for example in

medicine, cooking, dyeing and air-freshening.

These books are not directly relevant to the work

of botanical gardens, but the trend is interesting, since

their publication may be seen as satisfying a demand

arising from reawakened interest. Alternatively, the

books may create the demand; it is difficult to say

whether such books precede public interest or result from

it. Certainly there is an interaction, nowadays often

fostered by television programmes.

The whole pattern of subject coverage in book

production is interesting, though sometimes puzzling.

There must be some reason why books appear in groups,

frequently after a long interval during which nothing

has been written on that particular subject. This can

be unfortunate, since the best book does not necessarily

appear first. An enthusiastic buyer may seize the first

book if nothing has appeared for a long time in that

field, only to find that a better work appears in the

succeeding months. With money limited, this results in

62

a problem for the buyer, whether an individual or an

Inst itut ion.

A good example of the appearance of books in

groups is provided by the case of ferns. Until recent

years there was nothing up-to-date either on wild ferns

or on garden varieties. One book then appeared, followed

shortly afterwards by several others. It is difficult

to account for this. Especially with regard to non-

academic books, there may be no easy way for an author

to know that others are working on the same lines; the

waste of effort is regrettable.

-t cc3cA 'television' book by Richard Mabe(on plants as

herbs is 'Back to the Roots' (1983). It differs in some

ways from the original programmes which dealt with more

advanced scientific matters, such as, for example, current

medical research on the efficacy of feverfew for migraine

sufferers and the storing of seed supplies under deep-

freeze conditions to safeguard genetic variation.

One of the most attractive of the general books is

Richard Mabey's Plants with a purpose (1977), illustrated

by Marjorie Blarney. It is described as 'a guide to the

everyday uses of wild plants' and includes notes on, for

example, walking sticks, hop pillows and rushmats.

63

Eagle, Robert, Herbs: useful plants (1981)

This book, like Back to the Roots by Richard

}fabey, is connected with a series of programmes, in

this case on radio (Radio 1k, 1981). Interesting

information is given, including a reference to actual

and potential research into using more plants medicinally,

by studying herbarium material. An extensive inves-

tigation carried out at Harvard, under the direction

of Dr. Sin von Reis Altschul in the early 1960s, led

to the suggestion that a similar search might be made

in this country. In such a search some botanical

gardens, especially RBG Kew, could play a key part.

Robert Eagle says:

In the early 1960s a team of researchersat Harvard University led by Dr. Sinvon Reis Altschul thought it might beinteresting to look through the university'sarchives. These archives contained noless than two-and-a-half million specimensheets which had been left with theuniversity by botanists during thepreceding two centuries. The specimensheets gave the name of the plant, itshabitat and notes on the uses, if any,to which the plants had been put by localpeople. The team set out to find allthe plants which were alleged to havesome value as food or medicine. Afterfour-and-a-half years they had identified3,000 plants from this collection whichthey thought would be worth taking acloser look at.

In Britain we have two major plantcollections, at Kew and in the BritishMuseum, which contain three times asmany specimens as the Harvard collection.The eight million specimens come fromall over the world and have representedthe botanical research of more than threehundred years. The specimen sheets are

6k

in many cases the only writtenrecord of the plant in question,because they were brought fromplaces where the inhabitants didnot write. Over the years manyof these tribes have been wipedout or dispersed, taking theirtraditional knowledge with them:all that remains of their plantlore are the odd jottings of theitinerant botanists.

In t98OpharmacistDr. Peter Hylandsof Chelsea College, London, andDr. Malcolm Stuart, director ofthe Economic and Medicinal PlantsResearch Association (EMPRA) inCambridge launched an appeal forfunds to get these Britishcollections investigated as theHarvard ones had been. Judgingby the success of the Harvard study,Hylands and Stuart are confidentthat they should be able to identify40,000 useful plants. They pointout that the English collectionsare much bigger than the Harvardones and that their study wouldnot be confined to foods andmedicines; if timbers, dyes andfibres were included the yieldcould be twice as large. Theyestimate that the project wouldcost about a million pounds, atidy sum for ruxining through thearchives, but not so expensive ifthey were really able to identify40,000 'new' useful plants.

65

Peplow, E. and Peplow, R. (19 8k ), Herbs and herb

gardens of Britain: a comprehensive guide, published

in association with the Herb Society.

Elizabeth and Reginald Peplow have compiled an

informative guide to many different aspects of the growing

and use of herbs. The material is clearly arranged

and has a glossary, so that the book is easy to consult.

At the same time it is attractive in appearance. Some

of the sidelights mentioned could well encourage the

interested reader to pursue the subject further. The

directory of gardens where there are collections of

herbs is arranged regionally. The list includes botanical

gardens such as Ness Gardens, RBG Edinburgh and Glasgow

Botanic Gardens.

The following extract is taken from the publisher's

note in the volume:

Elizabeth and Reginald Peplowintroduce about ninety of theirfavourite herb gardens acrossBritain, savouring the individualflavour of each. They samplediverse herb gardens attached toabbeys, stately homes, universities,nurseries and the humble cottage,inviting us to share their Iiowledgeand enjoyment of the harmonies ofsetting and design, form, textureand colour, and discover forourselves these peaceful andinvariably fragrant spots.

66

Chapter /.1

ECONOMY BOTANY (2): plants of commercial importance

Botanical gardens overseas have, in the past,

played an important part in the economic development

of their home country. The transfer and acclimatization

of plants as food crops, from one part of the world to

another, has been a vital economic concern for various

countries including Great Britain. This aspect of

economic history is discussed by W.H.G. Armytage in the

section entitled 'The Plantocrats' in his book The Rise

of the Technocrats: a social history (1965). *

This has not been a function in which botanical

gardens in Great Britain have been deeply involved, with

the exception of Kew Gardens, where work of worldwide

significance has been carried out. RBG Edinburgh has

played an important part in the staffing of British

colonial botanic gardens.

Plants are the source, directly or indirectly, of

man's food supply. Their domestic uses mentioned in

the first part of this chapter have caused country

people especially to be well aware of the close link

between plants and people.

At present much of the commercial research into

improved types of vegetables, fruit and flowers, as

mentioned in Chapter 5, is undertaken by bodies such as

the Experimental Horticulture Stations (MAFF) and AFRC,

* tLL, LQ.cIoi..

67

and so is not the responsibility of botanical gardens.

The gardens can, nevertheless, have useful and important

links with these other bodies, and give them the benefit

of research undertaken in the course of academic projects.

At Sheffield University, for example, AFRC research is

carried out in close co-operation with the Department of

Botany.

Plants for economic uses in commerce and industry

are also the responsibility of bodies other than botanical

gardens. The Forestry Commission is responsible for

carrying out both pure and applied research on trees.

This question of overlap with other bodies has

already been mentioned (cf research function of botanical

gardens, Chapter 3). It recurs later in the chapter on

Functions of gardens: the problem of overlap (10).

Duplication of effort and expenditure needs to be avoided,

and botanical gardens must be seen as a part of a larger

picture, not as existing in isolation. The point is a

significant one, when the potential functions of botanical

gardens in the future are being considered.

The picture is constantly changing. No institution

can stand still; as change forms part of healthy

development, botanical gardens, it can be assumed, will

continue to evolve. Recent years have seen particularly

rapid change in that evolution.

Some functions, therefore, have less significance

nowadays than in the past, but new ones are appearing as

68

the rightful responsibility of modern British botanical

gardens. There is no need to assume that their

importance is lessened by the change; in fact it may

well be greater for the community than in the past.

It need not be a matter of anxiety that economic botany

is not, apart from some research in academic institutions,

a primary function in today's botanical gardens in Great

Britain.

Although this study concerns British botanical

gardens, it would be misleading to give the impression

that their achievements are necessarily unique. Kew

can probably claim, if any institution can, to have played

a leading and influential part in the history of botanical

gardens and their functions. Even then, it may be more

a question of the scale of the undertakings rather than

the fact that no other garden has pursued similar activities.

vital role in the history of economic botany has been

emphasized repeatedly. The Gardens are as important

today as they have been in the past, in searching for

and growing useful plants. Still regarded as the foremost

botanical garden in the world, Kew's role in research into

such plants is one of international significance.

In this function, the other botanical gardens in

Great Britain are not involved in the same way as Kew.

The Chelsea Physic Garden may play an important part in

future. The facilities required for such scientific

research are obviously very expensive to maintain, so

that a state garden is the natural place for the work to

69

be based.

An occasional example of activities in a foreign

garden is included here for comparison. For instance,

the very important Spanish botanical garden at Orotava,

Teneriffe, in the Canary Islands may be mentioned. The

Canary banana was cultivated here and found to be so well

suited to local climatic conditions that it eventually

became the staple crop of the islands, thus making an

invaluable contribution to their economy. The Garden

was originally established for the acclimatization of

plants brought back from the New World by Spanish explorers.

Some of these plants were found to be too tender to grow

satisfactorily on the mainland of Spain. Today the

Garden still flourishes as a major tourist attraction,

with a fine collection of tropical trees and shrubs.

An example of the continuing search for wild plants

which may be useful economically is the hunt for the

'wild chocolate' tree. The search was reported even in

the popular press. It is a reminder, not only of the

wild origin of our everyday foodstuffs, but of the need

to conserve the genetic base of plants and to explore

evn more energetically their potentialities, especially

of plants of which our knowledge is not extensive.

Developments in biotechnology are helping to lead

to the rapid production, by new means, of foodstuffs.

Such research may bring a revolution in supplying the

necessary food in the future. It is an area of science

70

where developments are so rapid that knowledge becomes

out of date very quickly. Here again, programmes on

television have helped to make new discoveries more

understandable to the layman. Micropropagation, it

may be said, is an aspect of biotechnology with great

significance for the future of horticulture and gardens

in general. For a number of' plants, this new technique

may well replace traditional methods of propagation,

and indeed is already beginning to do so for some species.

71

Chapter 4

Economic Botany (2)

Reference Material

Brockway, L.H., Science and colonial expansion: the

role of the British Royal Botanic Gardens (19g0)

This detailed and thoroughly researched account

is primarily a history of the invaluable part played by

Kew Gardens in the economic development of plants in the

world. The influence of ICew has been exercised in many

different ways; the plant-hunting expeditions organized,

the overseas gardens advised and directed, the experiments

carried on at Kew itself are widely recognized.

By bringing the story up-to-date, Lucile Brockway

shows that a continuing influence is exercised by ICew,

as befits the most famous of all botanical gardens.

Writing about the importance of Kew in British,

and world, economic history, she says:

Kew Gardens and the Scientific Elite

In examining the growth and developmentof Kew Gardens as the central institutionof a global network of scientistsspecializing in economic botany, I hopeto demonstrate the close connectionbetween imperial expansion and governmentsupport for science. From its inceptionKew Gardens had the support of the royalhouse and of influential men in theCabinet and in Parliament. Parliamentregularly funded Kew's annual budgetand the budgets of' the satellite gardens,which were charged to the Colonial orIndia offices. In the expansive mood

72

of the nation after the NapoleonicWars and up to World War I, fundsfor science and colonial activityreceived high priority. Britainwas in a period of prosperity andeconomic growth, the leadingmanufacturing and trading nationin the world. Domestically, shehad been the first nation to harnesscapital, technology, and a largelabor force in industry and to puther agriculture on a capitalintensive, scientific basis.

73

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

HORTICULTURE: the acquisition and cultivation of

plants in botanical gardens

Horticulture, in the literal sense of cultivating

a garden, must be considered the essential function.

Without it there would be no garden of any kind;

maintenance depends on constant attention. Amateur

gardeners know only too well how quickly the change from

cultivation to wilderness can begin; a short absence on

holiday may be sufficient to produce the first signs of

the process. Even the wildest of 'wild' gardens needs

some maintenance to prevent it from reverting to natural

confusion. Horticulture, therefore, from the beginning

of botanical gardens, has formed the basis for all their

other activities.

In a wider sense, horticulture includes much more,

implying the acquisition, care and frequently subsequent

distribution of plants (and seeds). It may also involve

the acclimatization of exotic plants, perhaps those

intended for useful purposes although this is not often

a function of botanical gardens in Great Britain. The

emphasis in university and college gardens is usually on

the scientific aspects of these activities.

It seems likely that in future the methods used

in horticulture will be radically affected by new techniques.

As earlier noted, micropropagation is already in use on a

commercial scale for the rapid multiplication of plants.

74

In the meantime, good horticulture in the traditional

manner remains of great importance.

The training of professional horticulturists,

in the various sections of the profession, and at

different levels of responsibility, has received a good

deal of attention recently. Courses available are

listed annually in GC & HTJ magazine, as well as in

other reference works. The variety of options is wide.

The British botanical gardens involved in practical

training are Kew and Edinburgh. Training is also

available at universities (degree courses), colleges,

and schools such as that at Threave (School of Practical

Gardening) which is under the auspices of the National

Trust for Scotland.

The administration of botanical gardens may be

suitably discussed here. At management level the

arrangements vary considerably from one type of botanical

garden to another. In university gardens the overall

responsibility may rest with the Head of the Department

of Botany, under whom there is usually a curator, or a

member of staff with a different title but fulfilling

that role. There may be, as at Cambridge, a Director

who is engaged full-time in supervision of' the Garden.

In municipal gardens, the final responsibility

usually rests with the Director of Recreation, Leisure,

or Amenity (the titles vary considerably), and under

his authority the garden is managed as a rule by a curator

75

who is allowed considerable autonomy.

Research on hybridization, to produce better

varieties of flowers for the commercial market, is not

usually a botanical garden's function. Reference has

been made in Chapter 1! (under aspects of economic botany)

to the work of the Experimental Horticulture Stations

of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

For example, two of the stations in the South-West, at

Trewarne near Truro and in the Isles of Scilly, have done

much work on the production of early flowers, especially

bulbs, which are more disease-resistant and have superior

colour and shape. The sale of such flowers is, of

course, one of the main elements in the economy of that

area of the country. The stations also keep in touch

with growers and others in the Roscoff district of

northern Brittany, which similarly produces early flowers,

fruit and vegetables for the Paris market.

In addition to the work of the EHSs, many new

and better, or at least different, cultivars are produced

by commercial nurserymen, some of them well known

specialist plantsmen.

Hybridization is also carried on in some private

gardens, if the facilities and the interests of the owner

make it possible.

It was in order to grow exotic plants in this

country, however, that many botanical gardens were founded

by private societies, mainly in the nineteenth century.

76

Plant-hunting expeditions were sent to little-visited

parts of the world and returned with many hitherto

unknown species. It was fashionable, though a genuine

interest also, for the educated classes of the day to

wish to see and study these new specimens.

This is another of the origins of the modern

botanical garden, descended as it is not from one but

from several predecessors. Most of the gardens founded,

usually in the larger towns, as a result of this interest

have now disappeared, though a few still exist.

Birmingham is the only place where the Garden remains

in the hands of the original private society. Elsewhere,

the Garden has been taken over by the local authority.

Social conditions have changed so much since the

time when these gardens were started that part of their

purpose is no longer as important as it was. Easy travel

and longer holidays for the population as a whole make

it possible for people to visit distant countries, where

they can see some of the plants for themselves. Films,

especially on television, have enabled experts to show,

in colour, plants in their natural habitats. Rapid air

communications and modern methods of refrigeration make

it possible for sprays of flowers flown from the other

side of the world to decorate the tables at a dinner in

London.

For all these reasons, the novelty of seeing strange

plants growing and flowering in a botanical garden has

77

undoubtedly diminished to some extent. It should

not be forgotten, however, that at the time of their

foundation, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,

botanical gardens of this type provided considerable

interest and pleasure for their visitors. And it is

still true that there is satisfaction in seeing a

growing plant rather than a film of the same plant.

In a Garden time can be spent examining each specimen,

whereas there may be only a glimpse of it during a film.

The same type of collecting and cultivation also

took place through the initiative of private gardens.

Expeditions were often sponsored by individuals with

the necessary financial means, and there was a certain

social status in having a better collection of plants

and trees than one's neighbours. Many arboreta were

made for this reason.

Botanical gardens are, therefore, not the only

places where such horticultural activities have taken

place. It is now much more difficult, however, than

it once was for private owners to maintain large gardens,

unless they use them commercially. Tom Wright's book

Large gardens and parks (198Z) deals very knowledgeably

with this, a subject urgently in need of study.

The National Trust has rescued many gardens which

might have disappeared or at best have lost their original

importance. As garden owners and administrators, they

set a high standard in horticulture, taking pains to

78

maintain a garden, or to restore it to its original

state. They have the obvious advantage of advice

from garden experts.

The overlap of activities between botanical

gardens and other institutions and private establishments

is a subject featured in this account, underlining the

view that botanical gardens cannot be studied in

isolation. Their interests are related to those of

other sections of the community, and their value is

increased by this involvement. They have no need to

be unique to be important. Each different type of

garden has its own aim and reason for existence. The

English tradition encourages various organizations to

exist side by side. Naturally, however, it is important

that overlap should not lead to waste of money and

resources.

Plant sales

The sale of plants, where the regulations of the

Garden allow it, can be a useful source of income. The

suggestion that botanical gardens might engage more widely

in commercial enterprises is quoted in the final article

of the interesting series by Grenville Sheringham in

GC & HTJ magazine (1982). Financial problems can be

serious ones, especially at present. Further possible

developments, solely for commercial purposes, would

doubtless have to be considered fully alongside priorities

for other activities. (Seed distribution schemes are

79

mentioned elsewhere in this study.)

Plants which are specially connected with a

particular garden can be sold to the public as a happy

souvenir of a visit. Such plants might be thought of

as 'specialities of' the house', or, rather, of the garden.

It would be unfortunate if the need to make money caused

botanical gardens to lose some of' their own purpose and

resemble too closely the commercial nurseries which do

a good job in this field. Botanical gardens, to survive,

must retain those characteristics which make them different

from other horticultural establishments.

In emergency conditions, engaging in commercial

enterprises may be advisable, indeed necessary. It is

not a completely new idea. An interesting incident

involving a botanical garden in this connection occurred

at the Berlin Botanical Garden in the middle of the

eighteenth century. The Director, the Professor of Botany

at the University, decided to use a part of the Garden

as a tree nursery, in order to grow young specimens which

could be sold to the public, so providing some badly-

needed funds. It was the academic Director, Professor

Gleditsch, who was enthusiastic about this scheme, and

the curator, a practical gardener, who bitterly opposed

it. After attempting to prevent the idea from being put

into practice, the Curator was helplessly obliged to

accept it. The affair is mentioned in Timler and

Zepernik (1978, pp i5-i6).

80

The essential importance of horticulture in

botanical gardens is emphasized by the authoritative

comments of Edward Hyams, in his introductory essay

to Great Botanical Gardens of the World (Hyams and

NacQuitty, 1969). Horticulture, he says,has always

been one of the major functions of a botanical garden.

There can be no doubt that this will continue to be

true.

Television garden programmes

The part played by the media in informing the

public about plants and gardens is now so important

that the subject could deserve a separate study.

A popular series by horticultural experts has

been Gardeners' Calendar CITy, Channel 4). The monthly

visits to Wisley are devoted to practical advice,

suitable for the average amateur gardener. The series

started in its first year with fairly elementary material,

developing later at a more advanced level, to keep pace

with a gardener's on growing knowledge. The contributors

are subject experts, who can adapt their knowledge to

the needs of amateurs. The programmesalso give an

interesting glimpse of the work in one of' the important

gardens in this country.

The series is accompanied by a book with the same

title. The custom of' issuing books to accompany television

programmes is no doubt commercially attractive. It is

81.

also helpful to the serious viewer, reinforcing the

programmes.

Plant names: meaning and pronunciation

Plant names are often pronounced in different

ways; to judge by broadcast and televised programmes,

this is not only by amateurs. Literature is available

on the meaning and pronunciation of botanical Latin

and Greek, for wild plants. Some attempt has also

been made to rule on the pronunciation of cultivated

plant names. Reference material is discussed in the

bibliographical section of this chapter; however, some

printed sources may not be easily available to the amateur

gardener.

This matter is perhaps an opportunity for botanical

gardens to assist; their practice is to label the specimens

in their collections, so a guide to pronunciation,

especially of 'difficult' names, might possibly be

included for the non-specialist.

Glasshouses

New horticultural developments bring to mind the

work carried on at Kew. The standard of excellence for

which the gardens are famous is maintained by the new

Alpine House. Visually striking, it is admirably suited

to its function.

Such a structure is very expensive to build and

to maintain. A state garden should have the best

82

accommodation for its unique collections. Elsewhere,

if suitable glasshouses are not already available, it

may be difficult for a garden to afford the expense

from the funds at its disposal. The imaginative design

of current British Government publications is illustrated

by the leaflet issued to mark the completion of the new

Alpine House. It is an attractive example of public

relations through official printing.

Arboreta

Arboreta are included in the present study, as a

specialized type of botanical garden. Arboriculture

is therefore included in this chapter on horticulture.

Trees have a particular appeal for many professional

horticulturists, as well as for amateurs, and several

societies are devoted to different aspects of growing

and studying trees. One intended for both amateurs

and professionals is the International Dendrology Society

(IDS). The Society, founded in 1952, gives its aims

and objects as follows:

"The idea of a Society to bring togetherdendrologists of all countries arosebetween Mr. Robert and Mr. George deBe].der, Dr. Gerd and Mrs. Kr!ssmannand Mr. Jacques Lombarts, during adrive in Belgium on 7 Nay 1952. Bythe time of the first General Meeting,on 17 and 18 September of that year,at which five countries were represented,there were some 50 members. Now it is4't countries and 750 members.

A news bulletin called Dendron waspublished in 1951k, followed by a series

of News Letters, 16 of them. Thesewere replaced by Year Books from1966. The original name, theInternational Dendrology Union, waschanged to International DendrologySociety in 1965.

The aims of the Society are to promotethe study and cultivation of woodyplants, and to preserve and conservethose that are rare and endangered.Members do not need to be scientificallyqualified or be specialists, but musthave a serious interest in trees."

The Yearbook is useful as a reference work.

Visits are arranged each year to gardens abroad and

shorter trips in Great Britain, including botanical

gardens. These visits and excursions are fully reported

in the Yearbook.

Chapter 5

Reference Material

A clear historical account of the horticultural

aspects of botanical gardens is given by B. F. Bruinsma

(Leiden Botanic Garden, Netherlands), in an article

entitled 'Past: aims and objectives', a paper read at

the First ICew Conservation Conference in 1975. It has

particular relevance to the history of gardens attached

to academic institutions. The general lines of develop-

ment are similar in the older university gardens of Great

Britain and of other European countries.

Codes of nomenclature

For botanical gardens, the two official codes of

plant nomenclature are important reference works: the

code for wild plants (known in brief as the 'Botanical

Code') and the code for listing cultivars (the 'Cultivated

Code').

An extract from the 1980 edition of the 'Cultivated

Code' is quoted below, with publishing details.

Both codes are revised and reissued from time to

time.

Changes in the naming of plants, a source of

inconvenience to botanists and gardeners, professional

and amateur, are made necessary by fresh knowledge in

the subject, and historical research.

85

General Considerations and Guiding

Principles

Article 2

The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature(Botanical Code) governs the use of botanicalnames in Latin form for both cultivated and wildplants, except for graft-chimaeras.

Categories and Their Designations

Article 10

The international term cultivar denotes anassemblage of cultivated plants which is clearlydistinguished by any characters (morphological,physiological, cytological, chemical, or others),and which, when reproduced (sexually or asexually),retains its distinguishing characters.

The cultivar is the lowest category under whichnames are recognized in this Code. This termis derived from cultivated variety, or theiretymological equivalents in other languages.

Note 1. Mode of origin is irrelevant whenconsidering whether two populations belong tothe same or to different cultivars.

Note 2. The concept of cultivar is essentiallydifferent from the concept of botanical variety,varietas. The latter is a category below thatof species. Names of botanical varieties arealways in Latin form and are governed by theBotanical Code. Rules for the formation ofcultivar names are set out in the present Code.

Note 3. The term cultivar is equivalent tovariety in English, varit in French, variedadin Spanish....

Note Ii. The terms cultivar and variety (in thesense of cultivated variety) are exact equivalents.In translations or adaptations of the Code forspecial purposes either cultivar or variety (orits equivalent in other languages) may be usedin the text.

Note 5. Usually a cultivar will comprise apart only of the species, botanical variety orother botanical category under which it is classified.A cultivar may however be co-extensive with any of these.

86

Note 6. When a forestry provenance isclearly distinguished by one or morecharacters and, when reproduced, retainsits distinguishing characters, it may betreated as a cultivar.

Article 11

Cultivars differ in their modes of reproduction.

Five examples of distinguishable categories aregiven.)

International code of nomenclature for

cultivated plants - 1980.

Formulated and adopted by the International

Commission for the Nomenclature of Cultivated

Plants of the IUBS. Edited by C. D. Brickell

et al.

87

The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated

Encyclopedia of Horticulture (1980-1982)

by T. H. Everett, 10 vols.

This is a major English-language reference work,

prepared from one of the great botanical gardens in the

world. In view of the high cost of producing such a

series of volumes an enterprise such as this can only

be undertaken very occasionally. It is now many years

since the Royal Horticultural Society issued its Dictionary

of Gardening (in 1951-6 and 1969). The RHS set of 6

volumes remains a standard reference work, but there have

naturally been many changes in the world of horticulture

in the intervening years.

The New York Encyclopedia contains some fine colour

photographs, though many are in black and white only,

surprisingly perhaps, considering the value of coloured

illustrations in this subject.

the complete encyclopedia willdoubtless be a work of tremendousvalue to anyone connected withhorticulture, both amateur andprofessional.

Kew Bulletin vol. 37, no. 2, 1982.

88

2) Prest, John (1981) The Garden of Eden: the

Botanic Garden and the Re-creation of Paradise

John Prest's book has an unusual theme. Briefly,

his theory is that men searched for centuries for the

site of the original Garden of Eden, and, having failed

to find it, started to recreate small-scale reproductions

of Paradise for themselves by collecting plants from all

parts of the world and arranging them in botanical gardens.

This is his explanation of the geographical arrangement

usually attributed to scientific needs. The synunetrical

layout he considers is due to the four continents, all

that were then known. As an Oxford man, he devotes a

considerable part of his book to Oxford University Botanic

Garden. The fine illustrations mostly depict biblical

subjects.

John Prest has expounded an original idea, with

which others may or may not agree. The publishers' notice

reads:Throughout the middle ages people believedthat the Garden of Eden still existed.With the 15th century voyages of explorationhopes ran high that the Garden might yetbe rediscovered. As the 16th century woreon, and no authentic Paradise was found,men began to think, instead, of searchingthe globe for the scattered pieces of thecreation, and collecting them togetherinto Botanic Gardens. This book exploresthe development of the Botanic Garden inEurope and shows how the famous earlygardens in Paris, Oxford, Padua, Leydenand Uppsala sought to re-create the Gardenof Eden.

The book was reviewed by S. N. Walters in Nature, Vol. 296,

22 April 1982.

89

A television series, in the summer of 198i, also

linked gardens with the idea of Paradise. This was In

Search of Paradise (Channel 1k), a history of the great

garden styles, UP to modern times, with some references

to botanical gardens.

In both these cases the word 'Paradise' is used

in the biblical sense.

There is, of course, another meaning of the ward

which links it even more closely with gardens. This is

the use of paradjsUs in the sense of an enclosed garden

or park, as in John Parkinson's Paradisi in sole, paradisus

terrestris of 1629. This title is a play on words

(Paradisus in sole = Park in sun), a of which

writers at that time were particularly fond.

in this case is an idea of Persian origin.

There is a considerable difference between this

type of 'earthly paradise' and the theological concept

behind the book by John Prest, discussed above. The

link between Paradise, the Garden of Eden, the first

garden according to the thought of Western man, and gardens

in general, often considered as earthly retreats of peace

and happiness, is an understandable one.

It is worth examining the entry in the Oxford

English Dictionary for the word 'paradise'. The origin

is given as follows:

Used in Gr. (first by Xenophon) fora (Persian) enclosed park, orchard,

90

or pleasure ground; by the LOCfor the garden of Eden, and inN.T. and Christian writers forthe abode of the blessed, whichis the earliest sense recordedin Eng.

The various meanings relevant to the present aspect are

listed as:

1. The garden of Eden. Alsocalled earthly paradise, todistinguish it from the heavenlyparadise.

2. Heaven, the abode of God and hisangels.

b. The Mohammedan heaven or elysiuin.

3. A place like or compared to Paradise;a region of surpassing beauty ordelight, or of supreme bliss.

Ij An Oriental park or pleasure-ground,esp. one enclosing wild beasts forthe chase. Hence sometimes appliedto an English park in which foreignanimals are kept.

5. A pleasure-garden in general;spec. the garden of a convent. Obs.

3) Wright, T.W.J. (1982). Large gardens and parks:

maintenance, management and design

The subject of this well-planned book is the cost-

effective maintenance of large gardens under modern

economic conditions, with even the possibility of making

a profit by various commercial enterprises. The book

does not deal specifically with botanical gardens, but

since these usually are large gardens, the author's

recommendations on dealing with high labour costs by using

modern machinery and techniques could be applicable.

91

Tom Wright, a lecturer at Wye College, is professionally

well equipped to tackle this subject, which had not

previously received much attention in the literature.

He includes case studies of large English and French

gardens, those usually still in private hands. Particular

attention is given to gardens open to the public, including

suggested methods such as plant sales to help with

maintenance costs.

The layout and arrangement are particularly clear,

so that the book is easy to consult.

Li) Macleod, Dawn (1982). Down to Earth Women

Women have played an important part as practical

gardeners for a long time, as an example, the nuns in

medieval convents who grew plants for their own community

and for the neighbouring villagers who depended on them

for medicinal herbs.

This book's connection with botanical gardens

arises from the account included of the original women

gardeners at Kew, the 'women in bloomers', a source of

considerable interest to passers-by.

The author, herself a practical gardener, was for

many years Main Sawyer's assistant at the famous garden

at Inverewe in Wester Ross, created by Main's father,

Osgood Mackenzie.

Lia) A study of the position of women in horticulture

today was carried out by Sue Gregory, then a horticultural

92

student at ICew RBG. Her thesis, entitled Women in

horticulture, was reported in GC & HTJ magazine, in

two articles by Sue Gregory, on 18 and 25 June 1982.

The account investigated the career prospects

of women at various levels in the horticultural profession,

including their salaries, and the prejudice (justified

or not) shown against them as practical gardeners because

of their physique.

5) Koppelkamm, S. (1981). Glasshouses and Wintergardens

of the Nineteenth Century

Botanical gardens are traditionally associated

with glasshouse design. Some of the best examples were

created for great botanical gardens, while private gardens,

such as Chatsworth, have also played an important part

in their development.

Cultivation of tropical plants has been generally

thought to be a function of a botanical garden, so that

glasshouses have become to some extent a popular symbol.

A recent fine example of a modern glasshouse was, however,

erected in Roundhay Park at Leeds, a public park. There

is no municipal botanical garden in that city; the new

glasshouse is intended for exotic plants, grown for the

interest of the public. This is, in fact, the sort of

function which led to the foundation of some nineteenth-

century botanical gardens.

The book has full-page photographs of structures

93

from different countries. The illustrations are an

important part of this interesting and attractive book.

6) Lemmon, Ken (1983).

March, pp 85-90.

Harlow Car. The Garden,

This informative article about the Northern

Horticultural Society's garden is by a well-Jmown

horticultural author who also gave lectures on gardening

and garden history. He was in addition Honorary Editor

of the Northern Historical Society. Ken Lemmon died in

February 1986.

The article is illustrated with several colour

photographs of the Society's grounds.

The following note forms the first paragraph of

the article:

It was the ineradicable difference inclimate and the upsurge in the popularityof' gardening after the last war whichled to the creation of the NorthernHorticultural Society and its trialgrounds at Harlow Car, Harrogate, as anorthern horticultural station.Although the NHS did not start until1946 at an inaugural meeting in Manchester,during the first world war Sir FrederickKeeble, a former Director of' Wisley, camenorth to help to spread the idea of anorthern trials ground among membersof the North of' England HorticulturalSociety who run the popular HarrogateSpring and Autumn Flower Shows.

An official guide to the Harlow Car Gardens is also

available.

91k

7) Mitchell, A.F. and Westall, A.W. (eds) (1972)

Bedgebury Pinetum and Forest Plots, 1tth ed

Arboreta are included here, and consequently

pineta, which are a favourite form of arboretum, never

restricted, in practice, to pine collections. The

Forestry Commission currently has responsibility,

amongst its functions, for promoting the more economic

production of softwood timber and also for scientific

research into growing coniferous trees.

Bedgebury, the site of the National Collection

of conifers, plays a considerable part in forestry

development in Great Britain.

Although scientific research is carried on at

Bedgebury, provision is also made for the public, experts

and general visitors, seeking information combined with

amenity.

8) Coombes, A.J. (1985). The Collingridge dictionary

of plant names

This is a useful reference book, giving information

previously not easily available.

Plants grown in gardens are the subject, including

some wild species. The pronunciation, derivation and

meaning of' botanical names are covered. Entries are

arranged in a single alphabetical sequence; a very helpful

feature is the cross-referencing from popular to scientific

plant names.

95

As the book is intended for horticultural rather

than botanical purposes, some of the suggested pronun-

ciations may be considered rather scho1arly. It

seems unlikely, however, that this book, or perhaps any

book, could put an end to the agreeable variety in

pronunciations which are found.

96

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

AMENITY: plants for pleasure and interest

The first known examples of botanical gardens are

those in Ancient China. In them the two functions, a)

scientific study of plants for useful purposes and b)

amenity, are found combined. It can be said, therefore,

that amenity is another of the original functions of a

botanical garden. Provision of amenity distinguishes a

from other types of research grounds and the title

gardenh usually indicates an element of pleasure for the

visitor. A distinction can be made between the 'pleasure'

garden and the continental type of kitchen garden.

The relative significance of amenity in botanical

gardens is still discussed, now more than ever. Some

amenity has been an integral part of botanical gardens

since the beginning of their history; the extent of

amenity provision varies, naturally, from one country to

another and at different times.

The English genius for creating an informal garden

design, whether in a small space attached to a cottage or,

by landscaping, in the grounds of a great country mansion,

has made the 'English garden' world famous. This ability

to make a natural garden had its influence on the plan of'

our botanical gardens in the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries as also on private gardens. It is in contrast

with the formal style often to be found in other European

countries.

97

A striking example of differing traditions is

provided by the history of the Royal Botanic Gardens at

Melbourne in Australia. Here the original formal,

scientific design was created by Baron von Mueller,

the German-born expert in taxonomy, who was appointed

first Goverrunent Botanist of the colony of Victoria.

The Gardens owe to him a very large collection of extremely

important plants. It was when William Guilfoyle was

appointed in 1873 as Director that the Gardens were re-

designed on English landscape lines, incorporating the

important plant collections of' Sir Ferdinand von Mueller

yet at the same time making the grounds into a colourful,

attractive place which visitors enjoyed seeing.

A research station which exists specifically for

carrying out research, botanical or horticultural, is not

concerned primarily with amenity, though some amenity

function may be served. The need to combine different

functions in a botanical garden leads, especially at

present, to much heart-searching about objectives. This

combination, however, also gives these gardens their

particular quality.

The term amenityI makes an interesting study in

itself. The Latin word amoenitas from which it is derived

is translated by Lewis and Short's dictionary as:

pleasantness, delightfulness,loveliness. Lit., of places(as scenery, a garden, river,etc. ...),

98

'Amenity' is now so well established In the vocab-

ulary of horticulture that it is easy to use it without

much thought for its derivation. The Oxford Englishtr

Dictionary gives its oriin,andmeanin as follows:

The quality of being pleasant oragreeable: a. of places, theirsituation, aspect, climate etc.

In addition to these general uses, the word has

acquired a specialized, fashionable meaning in the context

of public leisure facilities. It appears in the title of

some local government officials; the older term Parks or

Recreation Manager is sometimes replaced by that of Director

of Recreation and Amenities, or Leisure and Amenities.

Another example of its use is in the name of organ-

izations. As from January 1983, the Institute of Park

and Recreation Administration amalgamated with three other

similar bodies to form the new ILAM, the Institute of Leisure

and Amenity Management.

A garden must therefore be a pleasant place, in order

to be a garden in the real sense of the word. This applies

to many types of garden, public and private, and to other

places such as public parks. Botanical gardens have no

monopoly of amenity; the extent to which it should be

provided in botanical gardens of differing types has to be

decided by the managers of individual gardens.

Amenity may be considered particularly important

in the national Gardens at Kew and Edinburgh and in gardens

99

administered by local authorities and therefore auto-

matically open to the public, rather than in the gardens

attached to universities and other academic institutions.

Only a few municipal gardens exist in this country, very

few large-scale ones. The list (Chapter 9) illustrates

this. In these gardens much attention is paid to amenity,

its importance being taken very seriously. A survey

was carried out at; Edinburgh RBG some years ago, and the

public referred mainly, amongst their reasons for visiting

it, to the peace and the beauty. These factors should

certainly not be underestimated, especially in gardens in

cities, where such attributes, uxifortu.nately, are often

lacking.

The suggestion that amenity in university gardens

might be of lesser importance does not necessarily always

apply. Attention paid to amenity in university gardens

may put it, there also, amongst the important functions.

The situation varies very much, depending on historical

and other factors. The historical background of the

garden is important, for example in the case of Ness

Gardens, now belonging to Liverpool University, but

originally a private estate bequeathed to the University

with a stipulation that the grounds should remain open

at all times to the public. The condition has been

admirably fulfilled; Ness Gardens have become a tourist

attraction of considerable importance in the North West of

England. They give pleasure each year to many visitors.

At Oxford University Botanical Garden, the old

100

grounds (originally the Physic Garden) are separate from

the experimental area where scientific research is carried

out, thus leaving the Botanical Garden free to concentrate

on academic and public education and amenity. Cambridge

University Botanic Garden is an example of an establishment

where amenity, for the public, together with other equally

important functions, is taken very seriously.

Ithere gardens are not open to the public at all,

e.g. Birmingham University and Leeds University, amenity

may still be taken into account, if the garden provides a

leisure space for members of the university. It seems

natural to find amenity taking second place to research

in gardens which are 'experimental' rather than 'botanical'

in the popular sense of the latter word, and this does

appear to be the case.

Botanical gardens which are able to combine public

amenity with research activities, and can be seen to be

doing so, are undoubtedly carrying out a good job of public

relations.

The risk inherent in undue emphasis on amenity is

that such gardens may be regarded primarily as places of

recreation and so their serious scientific work may not be

appreciated by the public. If public funding is involved,

a difficult situation may arise.

Amenity is provided by many other types of locality

so that the public are not entirely dependent on botanical

gardens in this respect.

101

Garden-visiting is an extremely popular leisure

activity, promoted by various public bodies such as the

English Tourist Board. It may sometimes happen that

visitors really wish to visit a garden rather than any

particular type of garden. The opportunity needs to be

taken, therefore, to draw their attention to the differing

activities of botanical gardens during their visit.

Rousseau: plants as things of beauty

On plants and flowers as a source of pleasure because

of their beauty, a remark made by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in

Botany: a study of pure curiosit_y may be mentioned. "It

is a pity", he writes, "that plants were considered for

such a long time as useful things because it prevented people

from thinking of them as objects of beauty".

An unusual theory about the origin of amenity in

botanical gardens is set out by John Prest in The Garden

of Eden: the Botanic Garden and the Re-creation of Paradise,

discussed in the bibliographical section of Chapter 5.

Arboreta

Arboreta have been mentioned already as a specialized

type of botanical garden. In the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries, the fashion amongst private landowners to create

arboreta, or pineta, led to some fine collections. Pineta

were especially popular in Scotland, where climatic

conditions are favourable for the growth of coniferous

trees. Some of these private collections still exist,

102

though others have disappeared, or have ceased to be

maintained in their former condition.

Arboreta, or so-called arboreta, have also been

established in some cities, e.g. Leicester and Derby.

In the latter case the Arboretum is, in fact, a public

park.

Modern arboreta are often annexes of a main botanical

garden. Edinburgh RBG has an arboretum at Benmore in

Argyll and Manchester University's Granada Arboretum at

Jodrell Bank is interesting as a new university collection.

Arboreta of great importance are those at Bedgebury,

in lent, (the National Pinetum), and Westonbirt (maintained

by the Forestry Commission).

Amongst private collections, the Pygmy Pinetum at

Wansdyke Nurseries is an outstanding collection of dwarf

conifers. It was started by H. J. Welch, an enthusiastic

expert on dwarf conifers, in 1959.

The enjoyment of looking at trees and studying them

has been fostered in recent years by publicity. Help

has been sought to protect the national heritage of woodlands.

There have been 'Tree' years and 'Tree' weeks. A special

effort has been made to educate schoolchildren in a

responsible attitude. They have been shown that existing

trees need to be preserved, and new specimens planted in

place of those lost through age, disease and, unfortunately,

vandalism.

103

Examples of amenity

Ness Gardens on the Wirral, mentioned earlier, is

an outstanding example of a garden which combines amenity

with research. Amenity is provided by botanical gardens

and also by many others. The work of the National Trust

is admirable in garden care, giving much pleasure both to

members and to other garden visitors. Private gardens

which open regularly or occasionally combine necessary

financial benefit to themselves with a genuine service to

the public. Botanical gardens, it has already been

stressed, cannot be studied in isolation; the contribution

made by other types of garden must always be remembered.

Since amenity is so much a shared function amongst gardens,

this is a good place to consider amenity provided by

gardens of a different type, through reference to a few

non-botanical collections. Two gardens under local

authority control and two administered by the National

Trust have been chosen as examples representing many

others. Each of these four has individual features which

make it a desirable place to visit.

It can, in any case, be difficult to decide which

gardens should be included in a list of 'botanical gardens'.

About some, e.g. Kew RBG, Edinburgh RBG, Oxford University

and Cambridge University Gardens, there is no difficulty.

Others, however, carry out some functions of a 'botanical'

garden (and may do so to a greater extent than gardens

officially called 'botanical'). This explains why lists

of botanical gardens differ, including in each case the

10k

examples selected by and so reflecting the views of the

compiler.

Bodnant

Bodnant, the first of the four examples chosen,

is situated near Conway, in North Wales. Now in the care

of the National Trust, it is associated, of course, with

the present Lord Aberconway, an eminent gardener and

former President of the BHS, and with his father. At

their family home, much important horticultural work has

been carried out, under the supervision of successive

owners and their gardeners. Like Ness Gardens, Bodnant

has the advantage of magnificent distant views. A garden

which in addition to its own beauty offers wide views beyond

its boundaries is in an enviable position. In Ness Gardens,

the view is of the River Dee and the mountains of North

Wales, at Bodnant it is a magnificent vista along the

Conway Valley. Both gardens are set high on the slope of

a hill, and this is another attraction for visitors. At

Bodnant, which has had considerable publicity, including

a television programme in the World' series,

one of the best-known features is the fine laburnwn walk,

under a row of trees forming a tunnel, when in flower a

magnificent sight. The fine rhododendrons, some of them

Bodnant varieties, are another feature which impresses all

Visitors.

ewe

Inverewe, now a property of the National Trust for

105

Scotland, was originally a private garden also. Main

Sawyer wrote as follows in the foreword to the 1952, 1st,

edition of the official guide:

During the summer months hundreds ofvisitors wander through the gardens ofInverewe. Almost everyone expressessurprise at finding them here at alland is amazed to see what trees, plantsand shrubs flourish. Having motored,cycled or walked through many miles ofpeat-hags, bogs and wild rocks, theyrealise what this estate must havebeen like when my father, OsgoodMackenzie, bought it in 1862.

He has described the gardens and theirfavourable position in his book 'AHundred Years in the Highlands', firstpublished before he died in 1922 andsince issued in a new edition. Therehe tells how the proximity of the GulfStream provides the required warmthand almost entire lack of' frosts; andhow he could grow in the open air atInverewe, as we still can, as manyplants, and as good, as is possible atKew under glass....

Most people first become acquaintedwith this country in the spring orsummer, and do not realise what galesand driving rain will come during therest of the year. The everlastinghills and everchanging sea are alwaysthere, but as time goes on they mayfeel that a belt of trees for shelter,some attractive shrubs around theirhome, and an interesting garden wouldbe a great joy. If I can impress onthem that with knowledge and perseveranceit can be done, as it was at Inverewe,I shall indeed be glad....

Facilities for visitors are very good. Everyone

who visits this unique garden seems to retain vivid

memories of its atmosphere; one understands what the

garden meant to Osgood Mackenzie and to his daughter

Main Sawyer. She lived at Inverewe for many years after

106

his death, continuing to care for the grounds with real

dedication.

A notable extract from the remarks about Inverewe

Gardens in the Shell Guide to Gardens, ed. by A. Hellyer

( 1977, p 159), is as follows:

Today a list of plants grown atInverewe reads like the catalogueof a botanic garden. Rhododendrons,celmisias, primulas and meconopsesare specialities grown here as wellas (in some cases better than) in anyother garden in the British Isles.But there are so many other goodthings that it is useless even toattempt to list them in a brief guidesuch as this. The National Trust forScotland, which has owned Inverewesince 1952 and has constantly improvedand developed it ever since, issues anexcellent illustrated guide with agood list of the most interestingplants.

Liandudno (Happy Valley)

The third garden featured here is in the Happy

Valley, on the slopes of the Great Orme at Llandudno.

Administered by the local authority, it has formed one

of the attractions of the resort for many visitors. On

this limestone headland, a true maritime garden, rock

plants flourish. Inverewe gains some shelter from

being within a loch, but the Great Orme garden faces

the open sea. The proximity to the sea, however, reduces

the risks from frost, and the situation is sunny and well-

drained.

107

Sewerby Hall

The fourth example of a garden chosen is on the

East Coast, in contrast with the other three, all on the

western side of Great Britain. Sewerby Hall and its

Park are situated on the cliff top a short distance north

of Bridlington, to which town they now belong. Sewerby

was originally a private house and garden, taken over by

the local authority and very well maintained. The house

is now used partly as a museum.

The grounds in front of the house are landscaped,

running uninterruptedly to the cliff edge, where there is

a narrow footpath. A well-preserved ha-ha, a short distance

from the house terrace, still provides interest for visitors

but now serves no practical purpose.

Behind the Hall, a large garden, sloping upwards

inland, has a central path flanked by lawns, flower beds

and large specimen trees of monkey-puzzle (Araucaria

araucana). Across a narrow lane from the main garden

are two walled gardens. Here roses and bedding plants

are grown. Red-brick sheltering walls support espalier

fruit trees. The greenhouses are used to prepare plants

for the garden.

The original atmosphere has been well recreated.

Popular additions such as an aviary, wallabies and other

livestock have been added in the Park, and the caf in

the house.

108

These National Trust and local authority gardens

are only a small sample. There are also many gardens

still in private hands, open frequently or occasionally,

offering great interest to visitors, and forming part

of the popular leisure occupation of garden-visiting.

The importance, relative to other functions, of

amenity in botanical gardens,will no doubt continue to

be debated. As an early feature, even in a scientific

garden, amenity still plays an important role, not lessened

by the existence of other, pleasurel, gardens. The

extent of amenity provision must depend on the main purpose

of an individual botanical garden, with its own historical

background.

Amongst overseas and foreign gardens are some

outstanding examples of amenity. Montreal Botanic Garden,

for example, offers the public the chance to enjoy its

collections in very beautiful surroundings.

109

Chapter 6

Reference material

The functions of the modern British botanical

garden are considered here in the context of other

institutions and the community. A survey of literature

about the gardens' activities imist similarly include

material about gardens of other types. This is partic-

ularly true of amenity, important in botanical gardens

open to the public, and equally in National Trust and

private gardens.

The following books do not all deal specifically

with botanical gardens in Great Britain - the best source

of information on amenity in these is usually the official

guide - but they are significant for other reasons, such

as the status of the author or the connection with an

important organization.

1) Forsyth, Alastair, Yesterday's Gardens (1983),

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, England.

This book is included because it shows the recognition

now accorded to great gardens, as to buildings of historical

importance. Both suffer from problems. Buildings can

be damaged, by accident, neglect, or military operations.

Gardens, if not constantly maintained, are destroyed even

more rapidly, by reverting to nature. Both need public

attention if for some reason the original owners are no

longer able to care for them.

110

As a historical survey this book comes into the

category of background material in this account.

Gardens illustrate particularly well that the history

of a subject is essential to an understanding of its

present situation.

2) ReDrints of gardening classics

Two important examples of the current trend of

reprinting older garden books are the reissue of William

Robinson's The Wild Garden (1983) and the reprints of

Gertrude Jekyll's complete works on gardening. A

considerable interest in the study of garden history

is indicated, because books are not reprinted, even

books by authorities such as these two garden experts,

unless it is a commercial proposition. The interest in

garden history exists along with the demand for new

popular, practical books on modern design and cultivation

in gardens.

3) General books on British gardens

Many good descriptive books and series exist

dealing with the gardens of this country. Some include

notes on botanical gardens. The series of regional volumes

entitled Gardens of Britain published by Batsford, with

a separate volume for Scotland by P. Verney, is an example.

Individual volumes are planned according to the preference

of the author; some of the books give interesting and

unusual information about gardens.

111

It is not possible, nor necessary, to refer to

all the available general books on the existing gardens

of Great Britain. The following book will serve as an

example of a large category:

Sales, John. West Country Gardens: the gardens of

G].oucestershire, Avon, Somerset and Wiltshire (1980)

The author is a well-known writer and lecturer on

the subject. This volume was written in his capacity

as Gardens Adviser to the National Trust, member of the

Garden History Society and the U.K. Historic Gardens

Committee of ICONOS, and therefore an active participant

in garden conservation.

Batey, Mavis. Oxford Gardens: the university's

influence on garden history (1982)

Oxford, like the counties of England covered by

the West Country gardens of John Sales, is in a favoured

part of the country for horticulture, since, in a good

year, spring comes early. As the oldest botanical

garden in England, Oxford University Garden always arouses

interest. Mavis Batey, of the Garden History Society,

has produced a well-researched study, which forms a

serious contribution to the history of botanical gardens.

The pub1ishers description says:

Mavis Bateys account of Oxford gardensstarts with the early monastic foundations,the cloisters, quadrangles and knotgardens of medieval times. She tells of

112

the effects of Renaissance, Reformationand Civil War on Oxford. She tracesthe origin and great influence of theOxford Physic Garden, now known as theBotanic Garden. Further chaptersdepict the evidence of the greataesthetic movements; the Grand Marinerat New College and Trinity; thepicturesque movement at WorcesterCollege - and its rejection at Nagdalen.The ideals of the Victorians, still withtheir half-remembered familiarity, areshown in their buildings - and in theirdevelopment of the North Oxford suburb.Into this century the influences ofGertrude Jekyll and the Arts and Craftsmovement are also seen in Oxford.

Mavis Batey's book is an enlighteningand intriguing combination of historyand anecdote.

113

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION SERVICES; PUBLIC

RECREATION FACILITIES

Public information and education, as opposed to

the formal instruction of students of botany and horti-

culture (Chapter 3), is discussed here, with various

aspects of recreation and leisure provision.

'Education' sounds rather a serious word for what

is essentially a voluntary and an enjoyable occupation.

'Information' is an associated but not identical function,

since it lacks, in this context, the element of tuition.

Some botanical gardens undertake formal teaching

by the reception of parties of schoolchildren on organized

visits. This is a valuable service, undertaken in

collaboration with the education authorities. Plant

material may also be supplied for classroom use. Public

education or information, for the community as a whole,

can be considered to be a modern function.

Societies who founded botanical gardens,mainly in

the nineteenth century, were groups of people with a

special interest in plants, particularly in the newly-

found exotics being brought home from plant-hunting

expeditions overseas. The members of these societies

were not representative of the population as a whole.

Parks and gardens were made in towns in the nine-

teenth century, but their purpose was to provide fresh air

114

and a place where people could take exercise after a

day's or week's work, rather than to give botanical

information as such.

It might seem likely that municipal botanical

gardens today, rather than university ones, would mainly

carry out this public education function. Gardens

administered by local authorities usually provide

facilities of this type, but it would not be correct to

assume that university gardens do not.

As with amenity, some university botanical gardens

take pains to help the public to enjoy, and to understand

better, the plant collections that they see on their visits.

The publicity encouraging such visits is proof that

visitors are welcome in the gardens.

Increasing leisure is constantly forecast for the

working population of this country. A shorter working

week, longer holidays and earlier retirement are already

a fact. The trend is likely to continue rather than to

be reversed. Changes in everyday life have taken place

through the centuries; and only the speed of change is

different from the past. Retirement is, however, a

comparatively recent development, not usual for working

people until the twentieth century.

These changes are all potentially beneficial, though

sometimes the dream is more attractive than the reality.

It is now realized that provision needs to be made for

leisure, just as education and other services are planned.

115

With leisure time increasing, interest in gardening as

a hobby is likely to grow even more, so that such a

service would be a good investment for the future.

The terms 'information', 'education' and 'recreation'

are used separately in the title of this chapter; in fact

they are so closely connected in this context that they

cannot be treated separately. Few hobbies can be pursued

satisfactorily without learning something about the subject;

one of the pleasures of an occupation is to find out more,

in order to enjoy it more. The keen gardener is always

ready to learn about the subject.

People who have a good reason for learning will

learn easily and fast. The staff of a botanical garden

can impart information in various ways, such as talks,

'gardeners' question_tirne sessions, guided tours, and

through printed guides. Talks by subject experts, at

different levels of Imowledge, are likely to find an

appreciative audience.

Different ways in which botanical gardens can carry

out an advisory service for the community are discussed in

Chapter 11, Sheffield Botanical Gardens. This municipal

garden provides a good example of how to foster relation-

ships with local people, making use of the local press and

radio.

The 'public education' included in the present chapter

does not cover education specifically about conservation.

The need to inform the public on this subject, in order to

117

enlist their help, forms part of Conservation (Chapter

8).

A helpful way for botanical gardens to offer the

public their expert advice is by devoting garden plots to

plants especially suitable for the soil and climate of

their own particular area. Where this practice has been

tried, it has been much appreciated by the gardeners in

the local community. Advice can, of course, be obtained

elsewhere. Local nurserymen and the staff of garden

centres are naturally ready to give it; it is to their

own advantage that the plants they sell should flourish

if they are to have satisfied customers. A permanent

garden cannot usually be maintained on such premises, however.

With a botanical garden, the public can return, as often as

they wish, to see plants growing as if in a private garden.

Probus Gardens

An outstanding collection of such 'demonstration'

gardens is provided by the Education Committee of Cornwall

County Council at Probus, near Truro. Here a number of

different 'Trial Gardens' are maintained; tours are

carefully organized, a member of staff showing round groups

of schoolchildren, adults, parties from societies, etc.

The tours are so popular that arrangements have to be booked

in advance. Special features include a collection of

Cornish wildflowers, to show the public what these plants

look like, so that they will recognize them in the wild and be

less inclined to pick the scarce ones. Explanatory leaflets

118

about the gardens are issued. Altogether this is a

most imaginative enterprise, and at present unique.

International influences

Through international botanical conferences in

the 1970s and the early 1980s, the botanical gardens of

Great Britain came into closer contact with foreign gardens.

The purpose of the conferences was primarily conservation,

but the opportunity was taken by delegates to discuss

other aspects of their work.

Some European gardens provide facilities for their

visitors, such as open-air refreshments and music, which

could be of interest to those British gardens mainly

concerned with the public rather than with research. The

exchange of ideas can only do good for all the gardens

involved.

A specialized form of international co-operation,

actual or potential, arises in those towns in Great Britain

which are officially twinned with a town abroad. This

subject is discussed in detail later (Chapter 12). As

co-operation becomes more general between gardens, inter-

nationally, as it probably will, some of the differences

in practice between gardens may be modified, as good ideas

from one country are adopted in others.

pportunities for botanical gardens

It can be said that there is a real opportunity here,

a real need, in the field of recreation and leisure, for the

119

public facilities that a botanical garden can provide.

In all age-groups, especially perhaps amongst those who

are retired, free time needs to be spent in an absorbing

occupation in order to be satisfying. In some ways the

word is perhaps an unfortunate one. It

suggests a withdrawal from the active pursuits of everyday

life, a 'sitting back' attitude of mind, inappropriate

when retirement, for some people, is now at 60 years of

age or even younger.

A botanical garden can become a centre of botanical

and horticultural activities in its area by providing

advisory services. Examples are 'plant surgeries', plant

sales or exchanges, and contacts with local specialist

plant societies.

In the technical terms of the recreation services,

these activities are 'passive' rather than 'active' leisure.

Walking round a garden, studying the plants, following

(local) wild plant nature trails, all count as 'passive'

occupations. Compared with playing football in a public

park, this is, of course, accurate. The most passive

of all, for which a botanical garden is ideally suited, is

best described in Andrew Marvell 'a poem The Garden:

Annihilating all that's madeTo a green thought in a green shade.

English Tourist Board

In late 1983, the English Tourist Board decided to

promote a scheme encouraging garden visits during 1984; the

120

necessary arrangements were put in hand. Considering

the growing public enthusiasm in this country for the

pastime of visiting other people's gardens, and the fame

of the 'English garden' in countries abroad, such a scheme

could hardly have been unsuccessful.

International Horticultural Festival, Liverpool

The Tourist Board's scheme was intended to coincide

with the 198k International Horticultural Festival at

Liverpool. This was expected to bring many gardening

enthusiasts, amateur and professional, as, in fact, it

did, to this country. The International Festival was

being held here for the first time. The layout achieved,

prepared in a shorter time than is usual in other countries,

was remarkable. Expert opinion was divided about whether

the time of preparation was adequate or should have been

longer. The 1984 International Horticultural Festival,

through the preliminary competitions for garden designs,

the personal visits of experts and the public, together

with media coverage and literature produced, has certainly

had a significant influence on gardening in this country.

One of the two student awards for a garden design

was given to students at Kew RBG. The garden was then

built by the students, to their own specification, on a site

at Liverpool.

Young visitors to the Festival found a book which

had been specially written for them. Ped4y Edward's Garden

ivenir, by Patrick and Mollie Matthews (1984), shows the

121

well-known bear with Jasmine, the white rabbit, in

several parts of the Liverpool garden. The main section

of the booklet, however, consists of pictures of the pair

in eighteen countries which exhibited at the Festival.

There are colour photographs of flowers, gardens and

buildings in each country featured, with a short account

giving the information about plants and gardens which

would interest a young child. With the youngest age

group, parents could read the text and explain the pictures.

It is an attractive production; many of the photographs

are from official national tourist sources. This kind

of small book could give a young child a lifelong interest

in plants, by association with a well-loved favourite like

Teddy Edward. The layout of the booklet is an example to

publications for adults.

ILAM

For staff working in the administration of public

parks and gardens, the beginning of 1983 was a landmark.

Four professional organizations, including the Institute

of Park and Recreation Administration (IPRA), were amalgamated

to form a new body, the Institute of Leisure and Amenity

Management (ILAN). This combination of professional

resources was seen as a welcome opportunity to achieve one,

new, stronger association representing the various interests.

To mark this occasion a new journal, also called ILAN, began

public at ion.

122

Council of' Europe

The Council of Europe plays an important part in

wild plant conservation. The conservation aspect of the

Council's work is discussed in Chapter 8; it also takes

considerable interest, however, in the provision of public

recreation facilities, and in wildlife information services

for non-specialists (in scientific matters).

Naturopa, the publication issued by the Council's

European Information Centre for Nature Conservation, is an

interesting journal for both scientists and laymen. World

experts contribute articles in their own field; the scope

includes wildlife and plant conservation, planning, and

legal aspects of the natural world. Articles are perhaps

becoming more specialized in content, but the journal remains,

as a whole, suitable for the general reader. Reference to

this journal is made in the bibliographical section of' this

chapter. It is mentioned here as an indication of the value

of the Council's work on wildlife conservation problems.

Key Documents (Chapter 2) also contains information on

Council of Europe publications.

Overseas gardens

Occasional reference is made in this account to gardens

overseas which provide an example, worth noting, of' the

function under discussion. Another outstanding Canadian

botanical garden (Montreal is mentioned in Chapter 6) is at

Vancouver. This garden puts great emphasis on facilities

for the public.

123

From consideration of botanical gardens in different

parts of the world, it can be seen that, apart from the

effects of major differences in climatic conditions, the

aims and objects of the gardens are similar in many respects.

They are, in fact, divided much more by status than by

national differences.

The area of' responsibility in which gardens do vary

geographically, more widely, is conservation. The differing

floras of temperate and tropical zones, and of different

temperate zones, bring different implications for conser-

vation.

Advice on gardenin

One of the most valuable functions of a botanical

garden in public recreation must be offering expert guidance

and practical example to local amateurs. Gardening

certainly has the status of a national hobby, never more

popular in this country than at present.

Those involved, professionally or personally, in

future use of increased leisure welcome gardening as a proved

favourite in recreation activities. Joe Gormley, speaking

at the 1979 Labour Party Conference, reconunended the provision

of allotments on a widespread basis. This old custom,

especially popular in Sheffield, is mentioned in Chapter 11

(Sheffield Botanical Gardens).

Wherever keen gardeners live - enthusiasm is not

linked to the size of the garden, whether private or an

12k

allotment - the need exists for an advisory service

from professional experts. A good deal of information

can be obtained from books, radio and television.

Additionally, however, it is helpful to see plants growing,

and to ask questions personally about gardening problems.

Within the area of gardening and plant conservation,

botanical gardens have to share the leisure time of the

community with other organizations. This country is

particularly well provided with societies and institutions,

statutory and voluntary, which offer recreation opportunities,

both active and passive. Useful information about courses

for gardeners is given in journals, especially in The Garden

and Amateur Gardening.

Recreation for conservation

The Nature Conservation Corps, of Conservation Corps

Volunteers, makes good use of energy from the most active

members of society, for the reclamation of areas of the

countryside becoming useless and unsightly, or already in

a state of neglect.

This activity is an aspect of conservation, but as

a spare-time pursuit it is also a form of recreation, and

therefore needs a mention in this chapter.

Specialist plant societies

For the community, the relationship between a botanical

garden arid local specialist plant societies leads to an

important part of the Garden's work. This certainly applies

125

allotment - the need exists for an advisory service

from professional experts. A good deal of information

can be obtained from books, radio and television.

Additionally, however, it is helpful to see plants growing,

and to ask questions personally about gardening problems.

Within the area of gardening and plant conservation,

botanical gardens have to share the leisure time of the

community with other organizations. This country is

particularly well provided with societies and institutions,

statutory and voluntary, which offer recreation opportunities,

both active and passive. Useful information about courses

for gardeners is given in journals, especially in The Garden

and Amateur Gardening.

Recreation for conservation

The Nature Conservation Corps, of Conservation Corps

Volunteers, makes good use of energy from the most active

members of society, for the reclamation of areas of the

countryside becoming useless and unsightly, or already in

a state of neglect.

This activity is an aspect of conservation, but as

a spare-time pursuit it is also a form of recreation, and

therefore needs a mention in this chapter.

Specialist plant societies

For the community, the relationship between a botanical

garden and local specialist plant societies leads to an

important part of the Garden's work. This certainly applies

125

at Sheffield (Chapter 11, Sheffield Botanical Gardens).

The keen interest shown by amateur gardeners, including

those who have an allotment, or 'leisure garden', is

not new in gardening history.

The chapter on Sheffield Botanical Gardens

illustrates a historical situation common to other indus-

trial towns. Gardeners of all classes, including those

working long hours at a trade, gladly spent their brief

leisure time cultivating flowers and fruit to a high

standard. The annual show and competition was the high-

light of the year's activity. The present and future,

with the promise of ever-increasing leisure, offer easier

conditions for this hobby.

It can be surprising to discover how many specialist

societies exist in this country. Comprehensive lists of

their names and addresses are available; further information

is given later in this chapter.

!pecialized botanical gardens, and arboreta

Arboreta, as already mentioned, are included in this

account, as specialized botanical gardens. Botanical

gardens in this country are generally of the type including

a wide range of plants. In other parts of Europe more

specialized gardens exist, however. The Jardin Exotique,

in Monaco, with its magnificent collection of succulent

plants, is an example. There are mountain gardens in the

alpine regions of Europe, sometimes annexes of a university

126

botanical garden, as at Munich. At Bremen, the botanical

garden has a Rhododendron Park adjacent to it. Phododen-

drons flourish in the prevailing local conditions of climate

and soil.

In public recreational terms there can be a particular

attraction about trees for both amateurs and professionals,

an interest shared by people of all ages from children to

the elderly. An interest in coniferous trees is a special

form of this attraction, encouraged by visiting pineta.

These may exist primarily for scientific purposes; they

also have an appeal for the amateur tree-lover.

The Forestry Commission now has a section of its

administration concerned specifically with public recreation

and leisure facilities. The profession concerned with

recreation provision is a growing one, likely to expand

with the increase in leisure time. Efforts to provide for

this leisure time may, however, bring the problem of over-

use of areas, with detrimental effects on the habitat

concerned.

Recreation ecology is a fairly recent study, resulting

from the changes in the way of' life of' the community. It

is not a question basic to botanical gardens, since its

effects occur in wilder areas including national parks and

nature parks.

An arboretum. or pinetum needs protection, with the

provision of footpaths, and sign-posting, to guard the trees,

especially young specimens, from the less responsible members

127

of the public.

Gardens on television

References are made here to the importance of the

media, especially colour television, in informing the public

about garden matters, plant habitats, and wildlife.

The following list names botanical gardens (mainly

British) which have featured in television programmes during

recent years. The list is not exhaustive; it includes

only programmes seen, or known to have been shown. Others,

from regional stations, have probably not been shown

nationwide. Nevertheless, it proves that some botanical

gardens are well aware of the value of publicity in their

relations with the community.

British botanical gardens featured on TV

1) National

Edinburgh (Gardeners' Calendar Roadshow)

Kew (a) (The World About Us)

(b) (In Search of Paradise)

Cc) (Nature Watch, ITV, Julian Pettifer,

tour with John Simmons)

Wakehurst Place, Sussex (Kew and National

Trust), (Great Plant Collections, Roy Lancaster,

Channel 'i)

Westonbirt (Forestry Commission),

(a) (Great Plant Collections, Roy Lancaster,

Channel 1k)

128

(b) (Programme about Alan Mitchell)

2) Universiy

Cambridge University BG

(a) (Gardeners' World) (1)

(b) (Interview with Dr. Walters)

(Gardeners' World) (2)

(2 programmes)

Ness Gardens, Liverpool, (Gardeners' World)

3) Local authority

Sheffield BG (Calendar Calling)

Swansea (Singleton) Botanic Garden

World)

4) Private society 1 etc.

Chelsea Physic Garden

(a) (Back to the Roots, Richard Mabey)

(shown twice)

(b) Included in 'Fiddling with Nature'

(Yehudi Menuhin, 1TV)

Harlow Car (Great Gardens)

Wisley (Gardeners' Calendar) (series)

5) General references

Botanical gardens, importance as oases in

polluted world (Dsseldorf, etc.) (In Search

of Paradise, Channel 4).

Kew has, predictably, been particularly featured on

te1eyis0, A programme called 'A Prospect of ICew' (The

Wo1d About Us series) was preceded by an informative

introduction in the Radio Times, These Growing Pleasures.

129

This article could rank as bibliographical material;

most people, unfortunately, think of such writing as

ephemeral and do not keep it.

The Radio Times and the TV Times frequently

provide useful background information, not always covering

exactly the same ground as the relevant programme.

Television producers have the considerable advantage of

assistance from a team of experts and research staff in

preparing programmes.

The BBC Wildlife magazine (monthly) maintains a

high standard in its coverage of natural history topics.

It lists relevant programmes on both BBC and ITV channels,

as well as lectures and other events in different parts of

the country.

Gardens for recreation

The subject of recreation facilities is currently

receiving a good deal of attention nationally. It is

the 'passive' variety of leisure which concerns botanical

gardens, as already mentioned, passive recreation

including in this context the pleasures of standing or

sitting, and staring, and walking round the grounds.

The reasons why people visit botanical gardens, and

other gardens, are varied, depending on personal interests.

A survey of visitors was carried out at Edinburgh RBG, and

it was reported at the first Kew Conservation Conference

in 1975 that the reason most frequently given for visiting

130

the Garden was to enjoy the peace and beauty.

This reason applies particularly to a garden in

a large, busy city. The locality of a botanical garden

may be very significant for its use by the public.

Located near a town centre it may have a different function

from a garden such as Ness, in the Wirral, which is not so

near to a built-up area. The 'peace and beauty' in the

reply also involves amenity as one function again over-

laps cith another. (Some reasons for visiting Sheffield

Botanical Gardens are suggested in Chapter ii.)

Several themes recur during this study. One is

variety in botanical gardens, due in part to differing

status. Status is not the only reason, however. Within

the category of university botanical gardens there is a

wide range, from the experimental botany garden (not usually

open to the public) to the garden combining research

activities with a public educational role. In the latter,

amenity is provided, and an information service probably

including botanical, horticultural and conservation topics.

Cambridge is an outstanding example of a garden of

this type. The University Botanic Garden there demonstrates

how an institution can combine advanced scientific research

with a serious commitment to public education. It is

hardly surprising that such an example is given by one of

the most important universities in Great Britain. (Cambridge

University B has the advantage of substantial funding from

the Cory Bequest.)131

Aviarieø and aquaria in botanical gardens

Including animals in botanical gardens, to provide

an added attraction for visitors, is not new.

In the Botanical Gardens at Sheffield, when they

belonged to the local Botanical and Horticultural Society,

there was for many years a bear-pit, with live bears on

show. Reference is made to this in Chapter 11 on Sheffield

Botanical Gardens.

Nowadays at Sheffield there are collections of birds

and fish, housed in the glass-houses (the so-called 'Paxton'

pavilions), no longer used for the exotic plants once grown

iii them.

At Belfast Botanic Gardens there were Garden

anniversary celebrations in 1983, in the style of the old

days - hot-air balns once made ascents from the lawns

there and visitors were offered various other forms of

entertainment, so that the Gardens were a real social centre

in the city.

This type of popular entertainment was, and is, the

prerogative of public, usually municipal, gardens rather

than academic ones.

Animals, including birds and fish, certainly do

provide an attraction for visitors. A small informal invest-

igation carried out locally amongst acquaintances during the

course of this study is reported in Chapter 11 (Sheffield

132

Botanical Gardens). An interesting finding was that

several, mainly those with young families, particularly

mentioned the aviary and aquarium.

A different combination of animals and plants is

found at some zoos, e.g. at Chester and the zoo on the

island of Jersey. Hereplants provide a suitable native

background for the animals, tropical plants at Chester

and a collection of Australian trees and bushes for the

Australian mammals at Jersey Zoo.

Open-air exhibitions

Large gardens open to the public provide a good

setting for exhibitions out-of-doors. An example is the

collection of sculpture on display in the gardens of Harlow

Car during the summer of 1986. This exhibition, 'Modern

Sculpture for the Garden', was arranged with two objectives.

One was to show visitors how attractive modern sculpture

can look in a garden; the second was to provide an oppor-

tunity for sculptors, especially young artists, to display

their work. A large garden with many different environments

is clearly an ideal place to stage such a display; the

exhibition adds to the amenity of the gardens and at the

same time attracts the people most likely to be customers

for the exhibits.

An illustrated account of the exhibition, by Dr.

Rowena Lawson, the organiser, and Paul Cooper, a lecturer

at Lancaster University, was published in The Garden, May

1986, pp 213-7.

133

Chapter 7

Reference Material

1) Walters, S.M., Education in the modern botanic garden

(1979), The Garden, September, pp 37k-9.

Although written some years ago, this article remains

a valuable short survey of the work of a modern university

botanic garden. As a botanist and former Director of

Cambridge University Botanic Garden, the author is well

qualified to describe the different functions of this Garden,

which combines its responsibilities for student education

with provision for education, information and amenity for

the visiting public. Both historical and modern infor-

mation about the Garden is given, and research, Dr. Walters

emphasizes, must remain the primary function. Nevertheless,

Cambridge University Botanic Garden has set an example in

catering also for the public.

The Garden has featured in television programmes.

Two visits were made in the 'Gardeners' World' series.

In his article, Dr. Walters writes:

The modern Cambridge garden, then,like most botanic gardens of thenineteenth century, is open to thepublic who receive both "instruction"and "recreatjon" in it. A universitygarden does, however, have differentemphases, on the one hand, from thetwo great national botanic gardens ofKew and Edinburgh and, on the other,from gardens such as BirminghamBotanical Gardens created and adinin-istered by local societies with orwithout financial help from local

13i

goverrunent. In the first place,the primary educational role ofthe Cambridge garden must be, asit always has been, to providefacilities for teaching and researchwithin the University. It is, ofcourse, extremely fortunate - asHenslow clearly saw - that the demandsof botanical teaching (and evenresearch) concerning the whole plantare very easily reconciled with aneducational and even a recreationalfunction for the general public; itremains true, nevertheless, that thepriorities at Cambridge rightly remainwith the research and teachingfacilities, many of which are notnormally shown to the public. Tomeet this difficulty, we have found ituseful at Cambridge in recent years tooffer an "Open Day" from time to time,so that interested local people can beshown something of the work behind thescenes. We are also beginning to usemore plant material fromor sources in the gardenin special displays, both temporaryand permanent, mounted in the publicpart of the garden....

2) Brooks, Audrey V. and Knights, Ian. Review of

plant troubles 1980-1983 (1984). The Garden, March.

The Gardens at Wisley and Harlow Car of the RHS and

MIS respectively are not botanical gardens in all senses and

some writers do not include them in a list of such estab-

lishinents. They carry out, however, several of the usual

functions of a botanical garden, and some additional ones.

This article is an example of one service available.

The authors, members of the Wisley Plant Pathology Department,

describe here the types of enquiry received about diseases

Which have affected plants belonging to members of the Society.

135

This is a valuable advisory service from experts to

amateurs. The pattern of diseases most frequently

encountered at any one time is fairly consistent, certain

diseases being prevalent at particular periods.

The previous review of this type was published

in The Garden in 1980.

3) Hepper, F.N. Bible plants at Kew (1981). IThSO.

Some features of Kew Gardens, such as the tropical

plant collections, are familiar by reputation all over the

world. Other plants may be less well-Jmown.

This informative account by Nigel Hepper describes

a group of plants of interest to many people. It is not

the only collection of biblical plants in Great Britain:

there is another at Bangor, in Wales, in the gardens of

the Bishop's Palace, and probably others.

Public seminars and short courses

Some interesting courses on gardening studies have

been held in different parts of the country, at places as

far apart as the University of Durham and a hotel in Torquay.

These meetings, whether one-day seminars or short holidays,

are intended for the general public and are mentioned in

gardening publications such as Amateur Gardening. The

Royal Horticultural Society arranges talks for members and

the public, and (members') visits to gardens. The Inter-

national Dendrology Society also arranges members' visits;

the Societys interests cover gardens in general, as well as

trees specifically.

136

4) Specialist plant societies

One of the best ways for a botanical garden to

keep in touch with the community is by contact with

local branches of the specialist plant societies. Not

only does this give the Garden a link with some of the

most enthusiastic local amateur gardeners, but by providing

accommodation for their annual shows it attracts visitors

who might not otherwise come to the Garden. Enthusiasts

are prepared to travel considerable distances to see their

own special flower and plant shows.

The non-specialist may be surprised to find how

many plant societies exist, ranging, for example, from

the British Bromeliad Society to the National Viola and

Pansy Association. Lists are published in various places;

one of the best is in Amateur Gardening each year, in the

last number in December, under the title 'Know your

societies'. The list includes brief notes on the aims

and objects of the societies, and as it is re-issued annually

it can be kept up-to-date with officers' names and addresses,

an advantage over directories less frequently updated.

Nothing is more annoying than reference information which

was accurate a few years ago, but is now out-of-date;

everyone is familiar with the time that can be wasted

writing, for example, to the former secretary of a society.

5) Wilson, R.W. (1971k). Useful addresses for science

teachers, 2nd ed.

It is clearly important to give active encouragement

137

to children's interest in the natural world. Their

life will be enriched in the future by information about

all types of wildlife. Additionally, for conservation,

it is essential that the next generation should play a

key role in caring for the environment, and the animal

and plant life. This book has a list of arboreta

suitable for visits by parties of children; the arboreta

include both institutional and private gardens.

j38

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

CONSERVATION: wild and cultivated plants in danger

The changes in British botanical gardens today

can be regarded, in themselves, as a normal sign of

development. Society and its institutions change

all the time. The factor which probably makes the

present situation different, everywhere in the world,

is the speed of change. Those sectors most affected

by new developments in technology naturally show the

effects of change most noticeably. Botanical gardens,

with other institutions, reflect the changes in their

on way.

New technological methods in industry and farming

have encouraged expansion at an increasing rate world-

wide, using up land previously left in a wild state

and changing practices on land already utilized.

These developments have made even more urgent the need

for conservation of natural resources. The growing

realization, at least in some quarters, of the danger

facing threatened animals and plants has led for some

decades to the creation of conservation bodies and, in

recent years, to increased international co-operation

between botanical gardens. The extent of this

co-operation by botanical gardens could, however, be

still further increased, with advantage.

139

Conservation organizations

Threatened Plants Committee

Conservation bodies have existed for many years.

In 1948 Sir Julian Huxley, then Director-General of

UNESCO, was responsible for the foundation of the Inter-

national Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as part

of UNESCO. The Threatened Plants Committee (TPC), a

sub-division of the Survival Service Commission of IUCN,

followed as part of the World Conservation Strategy.

The European Sub-Committee of TPC was founded afterwards,

and the European Botanic Gardens Conservation Project,

following the 1975 Kew Conservation Conference, with the

Botanic Gardens Conservation Co-ordinating Body established

at the request of the Kew Con1erence of 1978. The

Conservation Co-ordinating Body issues a newsletter.

The IUCN European Threatened Plants Unit (TPU) is based

at Kew.

The International Association of Botanic Gardens

(IABG), whose parent body is the International Association

for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT), was founded in 1954, becoming

more active from 1960. IABG publishes the International

Dfrectoryof Botanical Gardens (IDBG), the 3rd ed., 1977,

incorporating revised material. Each edition has a useful,

different, introduction. Plenary sessions of the IABG

are held every six years, the latest at Canberra in 1981,

where the possibility was discussed of forming regional

140

groups. A more informal European meeting of some

members was held in 1982, as part of the International

Horticultural Congress at Hamburg. At this meeting a

European Committee of the IABG was set up. The inability

of the IABG, for various reasons, to establish such a

committee had caused TPC's European Sub-Committee to

form its Botanic Gardens Conservation Co-ordinating

Body. The decision is minuted in the proceedings of

the lew Conference of 1978. The object of this

Co-ordinating Body is:

To find out which threatened plantsare in cultivation and where, andto keep botanic gardens informed ofcurrent conservation activities.

The project concerned is mentioned again later.

Many organizations, statutory and voluntary, are

involved in the work of nature conservation. Lists of

these bodies, with details of their foundation, aims and

objects, are given in reference sources, e.g. in Nature

Conservation in Britain by Sir Dudley Stamp (New Naturalist

Series 19711), and the Guinness Book of Wild Flowers by

Mary Briggs (1980).

Substantial notes on major organizations are given

by Gren Lucas in his paper 'Organizations and Contacts for

Conservation throughout the World' delivered at the Kew

Conservation Conference, 1978, (Survival or Extinction,

ed. H. Synge and H. Townsend).

I'll

Eurqpean Conservation Year

1970 was declared European Conservation Year.

In preparation, the BSBI held a conference in 1969.

Resulting from this meeting, The Flora of a Changing

Britain,AbY Franklyn Perring, was published (1970,

paperback 1974).

Conservation Conferences

Plenary sessions of the IABG were held at Moscow

in 1975 and Canberra in 1981, and two Conservation

Conferences at Kew (1975 and 1978) followed by a Con-

servation Conference at Cambridge University in 1980.

The published proceedings of the Kew and Cambridge

conferences form valuable source material on the work

of botanical gardens, not exclusively in conservation.

Botanical gardens and conservation

It was during the 1970s and early 1980s that

botanical gardens became actively involved in conservation

to a substantial extent; responsibility for the protection

and preservation of scarce, threatened wild plants,

especially native plants, can be considered the latest

function of British botanical gardens.

Measures have been taken, nationally and inter-

nationally, to meet the plant conservation problem. There

has, however, been criticism from time to time, for

inadequacy in tackling a very urgent situation. Plant

* I 9 7o Fsg11 I°79- (ror44i, E'W .CJ4s L6L, r;i1vt,

142

conservation may arguably provide new justification

for the continuing existence of British botanical

gardens. Important as it is, however, the conservation

function does not necessarily detract from earlier

functions which botanical gardens still carry out.

Many issues affect conservation, which is considered

from somewhat different viewpoints by the particular

organizations involved. However, the influence of

numerous factors and developments on the vegetation and

flora of this and other countries is widely recognized.

Encroachment by industrial developments, new motorways

for fast transport, building projects for new housing,

modern intensive agriculture, including the draining of

wetlands and utilization of marginal land are examples.

According to the individual point of view, they may, or

may not, be a necessary part of contemporary life. Such

developments certainly constitute a serious menace to

wildlife. Endangered and threatened species are in urgent

need of' attention, though more in some countries than in

others, (the problem is by no means at its worst in

northern Europe).

Plant conservation, wild and garden flowers

In a garden context, the term plant conservation'

does not imply that only wild species are under consideration.

The threats to cultivated plants are perhaps less immediately

obvious, but nevertheless very real. Changing fashions

in flowers, and commercial considerations (including the

143

effect of EEC regulations) have been recognized as a

serious danger to the continuing existence of certain

'cultjvars', some of them old, popular favourites.

Some older varieties of fruit and vegetables suffer

the same risk.

Amongst the directors and curators of British

botanical gardens, there are several schools of thought

about which plants it is most important to conserve.

One opinion favours British wild plants, especially

those found in the locality of the garden. Another

section gives priority to endangered wild species from

other parts of the world, where the problem of preser-

vation is much greater. A different point of view is

held by curators who believe that their Garden's resources

should be used to preserve cultivated plants in danger

of disappearing.

An interesting article supporting the case for

garden plants is by David Stuart in The Garden, January

1983. Entitled 'Cultivar conservation', it demonstrates

the arguments for this view. Details are given below in

the bibliographical section.

As noted earlier, it is not possible to refer to

all the articles published in the popular press on con-

sex'vation topics. They appear frequently and to some

extent duplicate one another.

In the rescue of both wild and garden plants,

botanical gardens can play a significant part. The

lk1k

gardens' participation is sought in the National

Collections Scheme of the NCCPG (see pp 167-9); some

gardens are taking an important share in this work.

In this chapter an attempt is made to describe

the various strands involved in plant conservation at

present in this country.

Kew Conferences

For botanical gardens, the Conservation conferences

held at Kew in 1975 and 1978 are of the greatest impor-

tance. The conferences themselves provided a platform

for the expression of ideas and exchange of views. The

proceedings, published very promptly, in the year following

the conference, repay careful reading. They describe

the professional experience of directors and curators

from many parts of the world. The dates of these meetings

serve to underline the recent development of this inter-

national co-operation. The first Kew Conference, held

under the auspices of NATO, was entitled 'The Function

of Living Plant Collections in Conservation and in

Conservation-Orientated Research and Public Education'.

The proceedings were published in 1976 as Conservation

of Threatened Plants (Simmons, J., Beyer, R., and Brandham,

P., eds.). The second Conference, three years later,

was 'The Practical Role of Botanic Gardens in the

Conservation of Rare and Threatened Plant&, published

in 1979 as Survival or Extinction (Synge, H.,and Townsend,

H., eds.).

145

The European Botanic Gardens Conservation Project,

set up following the 1975 Kew Conference by the European

Sub-Committee of IUCN's Threatened Plants Committee, has

been responsible for an important conservation undertaking.

A list of scarce and threatened wild plants was circulated

to botanical gardens, to determine the relative scarcity

of each species and the gardens where the plant in question

was being grown and therefore receiving some protection.

At the ICew Conference 1978, TPC's European Sub-

Committee agreed to accept wider responsibilities, as far

as funds and staffing permitted, including the small

permanent secretariat based at Kew.

World plant conservation problems

The problems of plant conservation are worldwide;

it is therefore necessary to look at the global situation

to see what part British gardens should play in the urgent

programme. The areas where the need for action is

greatest are the tropical regions, with extremely rich

floras, unlike the relatively restricted flora of Britain.

To save as many as possible of these plants, seriously

endangered, needs immediate action. For many it is

already too late.

More than one view exists about the best way for

British botanical gardens to help. Many botanists believe

(and it is scientifically well-based) that the right place

to conserve endangered wild plants which cannot safely be

left in their habitats, is in botanical gardens in the

1k6

country concerned, where climatic conditions enable

the plants to be grown easily, and economically. In

temperate areas special arrangements, such as provision

of glasshouse accommodation, are needed.

If the areas concerned are in underdeveloped

countries where provision for a national flora is

impossible, international financial aid is desirable.

Where professional expertise is lacking, staff from more

fortunate countries may be able to go on secondxnent or

on exchange, with advisory visits by scientific experts.

Some of these measures are already practised. Staff

have gone to tropical botanical gardens from this country,

especially from Kew. Visits have been made by botanists,

to help the gardens to safeguard their rich floras.

IUCN continues to play an essential role in these

developments.

Scientists believing that the right place to coiserve

any country's flora is in the same locality, might add

that the primary responsibility of British gardens is to

protect the British flora, especially that of their own

local region. The same principle would apply in other

European countries. If the existing machinery works

efficiently, it is claimed, there is no reason for any

further European wild plants to become extinct.

There are other curators of British gardens, appalled

by the often-quoted figure of 25,000 endangered species

in the world, who feel strongly that our gardens should

11J7

provide a home for some of these tropical plants.

facilities for growing tropical species

are excellent; Kew, however, does not represent the

typical British botanical garden. Other gardens do

have collections of exotic plants already flourishing,

for example, the orchid collection in the Liverpool

Gardens. Where such glasshouse facilities already

exist, a garden may be able to take part in such

conservation, but the cost of building and maintaining

glasshouses, with the loss of valuable groundspace, make

it a difficult proposition elsewhere.

It seems logical to make such decisions at an

international, rather than a national, level; they must

be made quickly to be at all successful.

Though experts may differ about the true function,

in conservation matters, of gardens in this country, it

seems reasonable that the gardens should play an important

part in preserving the flora of Great Britain. To do so

most effectively some regional arrangement is desirable,

to avoid overlapping or gaps in coverage of species and

of regions.

The prevalent view of botanists, therefore, is that

conservation of wild plants is, ideally, conservation in

their habitats, where conditions are favourable for their

growth. Only if the habitat is threatened would the

removal, on a wholesale basis, of plant populations be

approved. Where the number of individuals of a rare species

ik8

becomes dangerously low, however, it may be necessary

for a garden to collect some specimens, preferably by

seed, and grow them on its own ground, thus providing

extra plants to 'bulk-up' the total population and

forming a reservoir of specimens from which plants can

be returned to the original habitat. This process was

carried out, for example, at Liverpool University's Ness

Gardens, with Saxifraga cespitosa from a habitat in the

mountains of North Wales. A short account is included

in the proceedings of the Kew Conference, 1978.

This country is well provided with different organ-

izations taking a prominent part in plant conservation.

The Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) is the

national association for botanists, professional and

amateur; one of its important activities is maintaining

close links between these two groups. The Natural

Environment Research Council (NERC), a National Research

Council and a statutory body, has a role to play in

conservation activities, and the Nature Conservancy

Council (NCC), a separately constituted statutory body,

is much concerned with conservation matters and has links

with the NERC.

Regional organization

Reference has been made to the possibility of some

regional organization for wild plant conservation in

Great Britain. Ideally, throughout England, Scotland and

Wales a network of centres, probably based in botanical

149

gardens, would be responsible for monitoring the wild

plant populations of each area, with special respons-

ibility for scarce or endangered species. Such

plants would, if necessary, be grown in the garden

and later returned to the original habitats, as

mentioned above. Present arrangements already fulfil

the needs of such a scheme in certain botanically

important areas in Great Britain. Cambridge University

Botanic Garden has a well-established scheme for

monitoring the Breckland area, one of the most interesting

botanical sites. An Ecological Flora of Breckland, by

. Trist, was published in 1983. The Cambridge scheme

is under the auspices of NERC, which considered it so

successful that a similar scheme was set up, based on

the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and funded by

NERC. This scheme covers North-Eastern England.

Wakehurst Place ('Kew in the country') is responsible

for the flora of Sussex, an important southern botanical

area. The trial gardens at Probus, near Truro,

mentioned earlier, have a collection of Cornish wild

flowers, forming a nature trail. The purpose is to

attract public attention, and by giving information,

to protect the same species in their habitats. This

activity is somewhat different from the schemes mentioned

above.

Even where no formal arrangements exist, other

university gardens in Britain are taking art interest

in their local flora, as shown in the list below.

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British native wild plant collections

1. Bristol University: South-West England

2. Cambridge University: East Anglia (NERC)

3. Durham University: Teesdale

Hull University: local flora

5. Manchester University: Teesdale

6. Newcastle-upon-Tyne University: North-East

England (NERC)

7. Probus (Cornwall County Council): Cornwall

(public interest rather than conservation)

8. Scilly Plant Garden, Longstone Centre, St. Mary's

(native and alien plants of the Isles of Scilly)

9. Southampton University: local flora

10. Wakehurst Place (Kew): Sussex (Weald)

Such interests in the local flora are not restricted

to this country. As a foreign example, Bremen Botanical

Garden, in North Germany, has a collection

representing species typical of the adjacent heathland

and the coastal dunes.

Garden plants

So far, the role of botanical gardens has been

discussed only in relation to conservation of wild species,

although reference was made earlier to conservation measures

which protect garden plants, especially 'old-fashioned'

flowers in danger of being replaced by new cultivars.

Roses and pinks are good examples. Older varieties of

fruit and vegetables in danger of disappearing are also

151

receiving attention. The Royal Horticultural Society

(mis), realizing the threat to some older garden plants,

was responsible for setting up the National Council for

the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG) in 1978.

This body, with its own independent administration, has

made significant progress. The plan was well-publicized,

especially in the RHS's monthly publication, The Garden.

An appeal was originally made, and repeated, to individuals

and to gardens sharing concern about the problem, to report

holdings of scarce older flowers, in cultivation, so that

a record could be compiled. An invitation was issued to

gardens, groups and individuals to become responsible for

a particular species, guaranteeing to grow specimens under

suitable conditions. The number of such groups has

grown rapidly until there are many in the country. It

was emphasized that botanical gardens would, it was hoped,

play an important part in the scheme; some already do so,

for example the municipal Botanical Gardens at Sheffield

are responsible for Diervillas.

Concern for conservation

The field of conservation demonstrates the partic-

ularly English ability to combine the efforts of individuals

and public bodies in an informal but effective manner.

The NCCPG has other aims also, not directly relevant to

botanical gardens.

The danger to fruit and vegetables of older varieties

comes not only from the appearance of new varieties but

152

also from restrictions imposed on growers by the

regulations of the Common Market. Some of the older

varieties are still popular with the consumer, however,

and a determined attempt is being made to keep them in

existence. Lawrence D. Hills has taken an active part

in this matter, but it is not an undertaking in which

botanical gardens are especially involved. Friends

of the Earth are attempting to save non-commercial plant

varieties.

The National Trust does valuable work in conservation,

as well as in its overall care of gardens. It has

prepared and will, (on request) distribute lists of

special plant collections. These include lists of

individual species, showing where they are gron, and of

gardens, showing what special collections they contain.

The NT has compiled lists of both ongoing and closed

collections.

The list published some years ago by the Bentham-

Moxon Trust, An Index of the Living Plant Collections in

he British Isles by J. T. Williams (Williams, 1974), is

particularly interesting as a rather early example of an

organized record of plant collections.

Botanical gardens, it is clear, can play an important

part in the work of plant conservation, possibly even more

important for wild plants than garden ones; for cultivated

plants there are other gardens, those belonging to

institutions, especially the National Trust, and private

153

gardens, large and small. For wild plants, however,

it ceems unlikely that they could be grown and protected

anywhere as well as they are in botanical gardens. The

process of monitoring the flora of an adjacent area,

studying scarce plants and rescuing those endangered,

can most satisfactorily be based on a scientific instit-

ution with the necessary expertise.

Botanical Gardens: co-operation

Through their common concern about conservation

measures, botanical gardens have been brought into closer

contact with one another. This sense of co-operation,

a comparatively recent development, will no doubt develop,

leading to greater collaboration nationally and inter-

nationally on matters other than conservation. Closer

relationships must be beneficial; the prospect of

continuing co-operation is cheering for the future of

botanical gardens.

At the 1978 lew Conference, the Threatened Plants

Committee of IUCN agreed to send a newsletter to botanical

gardens. There already exists the GArtnerisch-Botanischer

Brief, published at G2ttingen, acting to some extent as

a newsletter for European botanical gardens.

Vandalism

Wild plants, even growing in a garden, may not be

out of danger. Vandalism is an unfortunate feature of

gardens open to the public at any time. With very scarce

15&

plants, come specimens need to remain in a closed part

of the grounds, with a duplicate collection, if possible,

on show to visitors.

An exceptional instance of damage may be mentioned

here. In 1806, during the French occupation, the Berlin

Botanical Garden was officially plundered, many of the

most important rare plants being taken back to the Jardin

des Plantesin Paris. This experience, fortunately, has

not been suffered by any botanical garden in Great Britain.

The episode is mentioned in the official monograph on the

history of the Berlin Botanical Garden by Timler and

Zepernik (p 26).

The need for conservation

The importance of plant conservation is being

Increasingly recognized; whether the action is in time

vill be seen in coming years. Expert opinions vary,

though views are not over-optimistic.

The Dutch owner of the famous Pygmy Pinetum, Dick

vanilaveren, wrote in Amateur Gardening in 1983 that,

as the new cultivars are better horticulturally, they

should be chosen and grown by amateur gardeners. For

the sake of the maintenance of the genetic stock, however,

older varieties still need to be retained, certainly not

allowed to disappear altogether. A plant, once extinct,

cannot be recreated; it is essential to ensure the per-

sistence of at least some specimens of older varieties,

for possible future needs in breeding.

155

Council of Europe

Council of Europe publications concerning plant

conservation are important; they are mentioned in

Chapter 2 (Key Documents). The Council exercises influence

in more than one way. It initiate, project., offer.

mitinent scientist, a platform for their views (in its

sagazine Naturopa and in other publications), and aims

to inform the public about conservation and so enlist

their practical help. The Council of Europe has described

its o'in situation, as far as organization, promotion of

legislation, etc. are concerned. This statement is

printed in Naturopa (details are given later here).

The Council's activities are one of the factors in

the increasingly international attitude to wildlife,

Including plant conservation. Science has always been

international, of course, in the sense that scientist.

have, although sometimes with difficulties, kept in contact

with foreign colleagues. The Council of Europe, as an

international body, can promote movements and encourage

legislation on an international basis. Conservation

needs this international approach; one of the projects

promoted by the Council for the preservation of natural

habitats is a European network of biogenetic reserves.

This idea i. described in Naturopa Chapter 2, pp

35-6). Schemes of this type are relevant to British

botanical gardens, since the activities that the gardens

need to undertake are affected by other types of

conservation provision.

156

The activities of the Council of Europe range,

of course, over the whole field of wildlife conservation

end the legislation promoted by the Council is corres-

pondingly wide. It is only in the &rea of plant con-

aervation that these activities are specifically relevant

to the subjects in this study, so other branches of the

conservation work are not considered here.

This chapter needs a reference to important documents

closely connected with conservation (Chapter 2 is, of

course, devoted to Key Documents in general). One is

a publication of the Council of Europe, Resolution 77(6):

a statement on rare and threatened plants, setting out

recommendations, and giving information on their implemen-

tation by various countries • Botanical gardens are clearly

involved, since conservation is now an important function.

The recommendations arid legislation of the Council

become legally binding only when countries adopt them

officially.

International influence is valuable in plant conser-

vation, as already mentioned, not least by encouraging less

forward-looking countries to follow the example of the more

active.

The activities of the European Community in the cause

of conservation are indicated in extracts from Europe 8i

(p 13), a publication of the European Commission

157

COMMUNITY ACTION TO SAVE OUR

WILDLIFE

With public attention concentratingon problems of acid rain, lead inpetrol, or dangerous waste, it iseasy to overlook the Community'swide-ranging measures for natureconservation.

But the Community is not only concernedabout exotic species. It is alreadya signatory of the 1979 Berne Conventionon the Conservation of European Wildlifeand Natural Habitats, and to the BonnConvention on Migratory Species. Italso commissioned a study from the UKNature Conservancy Council (NCC) onthreatened species of wild flora andvertebrate fauna in the EC, as guidancefor possible action.

According to the study, the greatestthreat to survival of European speciesis posed by tourism, both inland andin coastal areas. This, togetherwith agriculture (wetland drainage)and urbanisation (weirs and dams builtto regulate water levels) cause agreater pollution burden and disturb,if not destroy, deciduous andconiferous woodlands, calcareousgrasslands, heaths, moors, mudflatsand sand dunes, rivers, streams,ponds and lakes....

Of the 11,000 plant species nativeto the EC countries, almost 2,000are threatened to some degree....

(Europe 8k, p 13)

Conservation and the public

Governments and official bodies are aware that they

cannot deal successfully with urgent conservation problems

without voluntary organizations and the active support of

the public in different areas of conservation. The multi-

plicity of organizations can make the situation complicated,

158

with a risk of overlap of activities. The committed

conservationist can find a suitable outlet for available

time and energy in active physical work, with the British

Trust for Conservation Volunteers, or in less strenuous

ways by financial and moral support. The first essential

is to make the public aware of the need for their help.

In this, botanical gardens have a valuable part to play,

e.g. by drawing attention to the local flora, especially

to the existence of rare and endangered plants. Botanical

gardens are certainly not the only agents in the cause of

conservation, but their contribution is a valuable one.

The European Committee for the Conservation of Nature

is concerned with problems affecting wildlife, including

wild plants, at a European level.

Plants and botanical gardens in Great Britain cannot

be treated in isolation; recent developments in conservation

have shown that the problems of gardens, at least in

temperate countries, are often similar. Much can be

learnt from the experiences of' foreign directors and curators.

Circumstances have changed from earlier centuries.

Many new, or comparatively recent, organizations are fitted

to share some of the work and responsibilities once the

province of botanical gardens almost alone.

Conservation is perhaps the function in which the

existence of other institutions and bodies is particularly

noticeable, and in which, to assess the present importance

of the gardens, it is necessary to see them as part of the

conservation movement.159

The example of other countries can be a powerful

incentive to the less committed. This does not apply

in general to Great Britain, regarded on the whole as an

enlightened country in conservation matters.

It sometimes happens that few delegates from Great

Britain attend international botanical or horticultural

conferences (Peter Mauds].ey, of Durham University Botanic

Garden, is one who has referred to this). The reason,

undoubtedly, is not lack of interest, but lack of time

or funds. It is also logical that delegates from less

conservationally developed countries have, in practical

terms, the most to gain from such international discussions

and meetings.

Conservation legislation, then, to be effective,

must be on an international basis. In Europe, although

problems are common to the whole continent, some areas,

especially the Mediterranean, are in greater need than

others.

Plant conservation in Great Britain: scale of problem

Comparative plant statistics help to maintain a sense

of perspective about the scale of conservation problems.

25,000 is generally given as the number of endangered

plants in the world. In Europe, ikoo or 1300 is the

usual figure quoted. Compared with these, the total of

21 given for this country in the first edition of IUCN's

Threatened Plants Committee seems very small. With

160

Britain's relatively small flora (compared even with

some European countries) it might appear that serious

problems do not exist here. In Southern Europe, certainly,

action is very urgently needed. There is no room for

complacency in Britain, however, since habitats can change

rapidly. The fact that our flora is a restricted one

is an added reason not to allow present members to

disappear; it is a situation to be monitored by conser-

vation bodies and botanical gardens.

Plant and animal interaction

With modern thinking on ecology, animals and plants

are increasingly seen as part of the totality of living

organisms in a habitat, interacting on one another. If

they are to be considered together, this can complicate

the functions of botanical gardens.

There is now a tendency (as already mentioned in

Chapter 7) to have plants and animals (including birds and

fish) in some botanical gardens or zoos, e.g. Chester,

Jersey. This, however, is often for recreational rather

than conservational purposes. (The importance of plant-

insect and plant-bird relationships in private gardens is

referred to below, p163).

Wild flower cultivation

The availability of wild flower seeds to the public

commercially is a fairly new development. Nostalgia for

flowers, remembered from childhood, rarely seen nowadays

161

in the countryside, leads to a ready market for these

seeds. Enthusiasm for conservation on the part of a

few specialist growers is making them available; some

use of wild flower seed mixed with grass has been made

by public authorities on motorway slopes and in parkland.

Farmers, it is suggested, might consider growing and

selling wild flower mixtures as an alternative crop, where

modern monoculture in farming has resulted in over-production

with the risk of subsidies being withdrawn. Growing wild

plants in private gardens is discussed in the following

paragraphs.

Publicity for wild flower conservation was provided

by the annual Sunday Times garden design competition at

the Chelsea Flower Show of 1982. A different theme is

chosen each year for this competition. In 1982 the title

was a 'Conservation Garden', incorporating an area devoted

to growing wild plants. These would, in turn, encourage

birds and butterflies. (It was not intended that the

whole garden should be given over to wild plants.) The

winning entry was a cleverly designed garden, by Kevan

Chambers, in which the 'wild' section was set at one end

and merged into a plot containing more usual garden features.

It was reported in The Sunday Times, 16 Nay 1982. The

whole area was not large; the design was a successful

example showing how gardeners with a comparatively small

amount of ground can enjoy the pleasure of wild flowers

as well as cultivated varieties.

162

Evidence of public interest in conservation, and

of attempts by enthusiasts to enlist their help, is

frequently seen in articles in the press on wild plant

and 'weed' gardens. Books and articles on all aspects

of gardening are published in a constant stream.

Literature on deliberate cultivation of wild flowers is

perhaps a fairly recent phenomenon, apart from information

on their use for medicinal and domestic purposes. The

latter aspect was an old interest in plants, commoner

in earlier centuries than in modern times, until a recent

revival of interest.

Growing wild flowers in a garden at the present day

is naturally connected with the scarcity of such flowers

in the countryside. Earlier generations who could see

the plants growing freely in the fields and hedgerows had

no need to cultivate them for decoration (as opposed to

practical uses).

Nevertheless, the scarcity of once common, familiar

wild flowers has led to modern interest in giving them a

place in the garden. There is the additional advantage

of' attracting butterflies, birds and other wildlife, whose

existence is closely linked with the plants; in 'wild' areas

of botanic gardens this is also becoming the custom (as

mentioned on p161).

The new demand for wild flower plants to grow in

gardens is encouraged by a range of packets of wild flower

seeds in garden shops. This collection includes many

163

well-known favourites remembered from childhood.

Now that it is illegal to dig up any wild plant

without the specific permission of the owner, such an

alternative is timely. In addition a few specialist

nurseries are advertising wild flower seeds for sale

by post (e.g. in The Garden, March 1983). Harvesting

such seeds is a slow and expensive process, so that it

does not seem at present to be promising for nurseries

run on highly cost-effective lines.

An interesting scheme was found at a flower shop

in Sheffield (Lockwood's in Surrey Street), to whose

owners, Mrs. Anne Carroll and Mr. Tom Sleight, gratitude

is expressed for information supplied. The owners have

a nursery in South Yorkshire, at Tickhill, from which they

brought small plants, already in flower, to their four

shops, at Sheffield, Rotherham, Worksop and Newark. The

plants on sale have been cowslips and wild violets. In

one season approximately 1,000 cowslip plants were sold

and about 200 violets, proof that the cowslips were

extremely popular. Plants were taken away to other

parts of the country by purchasers pleased to see cowslips

again, a plant which seems to have a special attraction

as a reminder of childhood, especially perhaps for older

people.

Since it is quicker and easier to grow plants than

to sow seeds, the provision of wild plants might be an idea

for some botanical gardens. Where the garden is permitted

16k